


Mutant's Endgame

by lydiaofthefallen



Series: Mutant and Proud [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Marvel Universe, Mutants, Peter Being Precious, Reader is a bad ass, Spider-Man - Freeform, Waterbending & Waterbenders, X-men - Freeform, XReader, tony still dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:47:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 82,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21988369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lydiaofthefallen/pseuds/lydiaofthefallen
Summary: (Y/n) is alive and well, but, no one knows.Not only does no one know but those close to her are gearing up to fight her and the cause she was brainwashed into supporting.As she fights for the wrong side, and as (Y/n) gets flash backs to times with a mysterious stranger she felt her world, her mind, unravel.As Peter realizes that (Y/n) is alive he makes it his mission to bring her back to who she was. But, with the heroes that are left focused on bringing back half of the universe more than bringing back the young hero, Peter finds that he is nearly alone in his quest.Even if he is be able to bring her back, what life, what missions, will they have together after? What aftermath will they have to survive if the Avengers succeeded?What other battles will they have to fight to keep those they love safe?
Relationships: Peter Parker & Reader, Peter Parker/Reader
Series: Mutant and Proud [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1278155
Comments: 11
Kudos: 84





	1. Mirror, Mirror

Traveling to market planets was always an exciting thing. Of course I couldn't outwardly show all of my happiness- it would present me as vulnerable- I allowed a small smile to stretch across my lips. The different people, the stuffed stalls, the loud conversations. All of it integrated me into a society I had long been removed from.

"Berry seeds," I muttered to myself, looking at the stalls, "And gunga. Father said something about it originating from Orveon. Good thing I know a bit of their language."

I passed through herds of people within the building, drowning out their loud voices with my own thoughts. Every few stalls I stopped and bought something that was on my list, checking it off of my device when it was secured. Bags piled up in my arms, full of living essentials and otherwise.

"Orveonian," I paused at a stall with an Orveonian title. If I was going to find gunga anywhere it would be there, "Good afternoon. I'm looking for some gunga. I'm hoping you have some in stock."

"You're lucky, I just got a new shipment. Private people those Orveonians are, but more than willing to trade to peaceful federations. Makes me want to move there at times."

"Orveonian culture is quite interesting. We could learn a thing or two from them in terms of peace," I held out the credit chip for the merchant. Interesting, speaking of peace when my lifestyle was so violent in terms of training. But violence for peace was peaceful violence... It made sense in my mind.

"Is that all?" The worker held out a small bag, holding the plant.

Light reflections flashed past my eyes. I turned my head to face the mirror hanging from the side of the stall. Tiny pulsing crystals bordered it. I wasn't sure if it was the mirror's glass or the crystals that caught my attention, but it was calling to me.

"What's that?" I questioned, pointing at the mirror. The merchant followed my finger, exclaiming in excitement when he set his eyes on the mirror.

"Winush ta coxka. Mirror of truth," the merchant picked it up, setting it in front of me, "It's bordered by fragments of magic crystals. It's meant to show you truths your subconscious isn't even aware of. Good for soul searching and all that. I found it with a Madame Teyla."

"Interesting. I'll take it."

I traded credits for the mirror. It was the size of my torso and awkward to carry, but I felt a thrum of excitement I had been lacking lately. Traded half of the bags on my left arm to my right to carry the mirror, I continued on.

Mirrors weren't allowed at home. Well, they weren't necessarily banned, but Father said they distorted the truth. The only time I used them was during training to observe my movements from all angles to see what I had to improve. However, this was called the _Mirror of_ _Truth. And_ Father said I could buy myself one thing for working so hard. This was what I wanted.

Being able to cross everything off my list soon after purchasing the mirror, I trekked back to my ship. Upon turning out of the market I overheard footsteps behind me. I pushed down the temptation to turn around and look. That would give my awareness away.

 _Act natural_ , I chided myself, _Let them get in close then deal with them_

My ship was in sight. The small but sturdy and fast structure catching my sight easily. Top of the line. Knowing I had limited time before an attack, I sped up my pace. Two ships away from my own I set my bags and mirror on the ground.

"You don't understand what you got yourself into by following me."

The man bristled upon being addressed. He pulled a blaster out of his coat. Waving my hands around me I collected water from the air surrounding my body.

Forming thick shields of ice and quickly melting them to use offensively was my main tactic. It handled defense and offense at the same time. When the man paused to adjust his grip for a split second I struck. Freezing his wrists and ankles to the ground I hovered over him.

"Why did you attack me?" I growled animalistically, baring my front teeth.

"You were asking for it."

"Not good enough," I formed an ice spike to drive into his hand. Over his screams of pain I asked again, "Why did you attack me?"

"Trafficking! We never see any full Terrans out here. You would've earned me a fortune," the man screamed out. I scoffed. It was true, I saw races similar to Terrans, but we were fundamentally different. I was alone.

"Typical. Scum like you deserves to die. However, my father taught me to be generous. The ice will take around fifteen minutes to melt. Your body will bleed out in around twenty. Tick tock."

I sliced his subclavian vein in his shoulder, jumping back as blood spurted out. The last thing I needed was to stain my clothes with blood. Leaving the man in his misery, and ignoring the clench in my gut, I picked up my things and stepped onto my ship.

Setting my coordinates for home I leaned back in my seat. Tugging my shirt out of my pants, my fingers ran over three horizontal metal lines the width of my fingers on my stomach. Thicker than the one on my face, but were put there for the same reason; to enhance my abilities.

Both connected to technology attached to my body systems;;my face markings enhanced my hearing and eyesight. They ran from one cheekbone over my brows to the other. The ones on my stomach assisted in adapting to different atmospheres.

Father input them after difficulties on two different missions. I was temporarily blind and deaf, and could barely move for a week, but Father insisted it was important to make me better.

I dozed during the flight back, wondering distantly if the trafficker was still alive. I forgot to calculate for how out of it they would be, the extreme blood loss would most certainly put him out of his mind. But if he was determined enough, he would drag himself to help.

_"Landing."_

I jerked awake, rubbing my tired eyes. I fell asleep, missing reentering the atmosphere. Turning off the ship, I grabbed everything I bought and stepped off. The Garden was gorgeous, and was always a sight to see. But my eyes weren't on the landscape, they were searching for my father. Coming up with nothing, I hummed.

"Father?" I called out upon entering our makeshift home, Father had plans to make it better one day. No response, "Huh. He must be in the fields. It'll be dark soon."

I set the bags of groceries on the table. I paused to glance out the window at the sunset. I took the mirror to my bathroom, setting it against the sink and wall to keep it up.

I stared at myself. I hadn't done that in a long time. Running my tongue over my bottom row of teeth, I paused. Something was on my inner lip. From what I felt it was a symbol or language of some sort. I always felt it, but now I could see what it was.

Gripping the edges of my mouth I pulled my lip down. _Welcome_ was tattooed in Wakandan, a Terran language. I didn't know how I knew either of those things, but it filled me with warmth.

The crystals on the rim of the mirror began to glow. A dull throb formed in my head. I winced, letting go of my lip as if that would solve the problem.

The ache intensified until drums were pounding against my skull. I let out a pained noise, squeezing my eyes shut. My body fell backwards against the wall and onto the floor.

_"That was the longest ten minutes of my life." It was me, dressed in Terran clothes, with a fresh lip tattoo. I turned to a boy with brown hair and brown eyes, "You're up Peter."_

_Peter sat down in the seat, pulling down his lip and getting his own tattoo. When he was finished, we looked in a large mirror in front of us. The boy, Peter, glanced over at me, smiling._

_"This is crazy," I whispered, "Absolutely insane."_

_"I guess you're officially Wakandans now," a girl behind us grinned, "Can't call you outsider anymore."_

I yelped when one of the crystals on the mirror shattered, coming to. I put my hand over my mouth, the tattoo pressing against my tongue. Getting to my knees I cautiously glanced in the mirror, screaming.

My eyes were glowing blue. The blue you would see when looking over an ice-covered lake. The crystals glowed as my eyes did, another one shattering. Jumping back I let out a loud sob, overwhelmed. Emotions were weakness, but this was terrifying.

The mirror was meant to show me who I really was and all that crap. Instead, it showed me a memory I couldn't recall, with faces I couldn't name. My eyes reacted in a magic based way and two of the powerful crystals shattered.

"Daughter?" Father's towering frame stood in the doorway. I missed him coming in, "What has happened?"

I broke down and explained everything to him; From buying the mirror to what I saw when I looked inside. In the process of my explanation Father had picked me up and set in my bed with his good arm. His other was destroyed while balancing the universe, nearly unusable.

"Why do I have memories of Terra when I've never been there?"

Father sighed, eyes moving away from me, "You were sent on a mission to Earth nearly two years ago. You made friends, adapted, and fell in love. But he betrayed you. His team captured you and tortured you for information. You escaped. Your mind was damaged and traumatized so I locked away your memories. I apologize for not telling you sooner."

"I understand Father. You were protecting me. Goodnight."

Father went into the bathroom and retrieved the mirror from its place against the wall, "Goodnight, daughter."

"Oh, wait, Father!" I called out for him before he could leave, "I saw a boy in a red suit a while ago, you remember. Are they the same person?"

"Yes." Father left with the mirror.

When he was gone a sinking feeling bloomed in my stomach. I attempted to ignore it, focusing on changing into pajamas. Father wouldn't lie, I was raised to only deceive while on missions. Except, looking back on it I couldn't remember my childhood.

Thinking on it further, I remebered three market trips. I said I loved going there, but I could only remember three times. Twenty-one days were all I had in my mind, before that nothing. Twenty-one days of grueling training in the fields, of not thinking anything of my past. If Father erased my memory, why erase all of it?

Still, I couldn't shake the way that boy looked at me. That much love and admiration was impossible to fake.

~*~

The next morning I was just as tired as I was the night before. My dreams were plagued with that boy and the mirror.

Cautiously stepping around the crystal shards I would have to clean up, I stared at the blank wall above my sink. Sighing, I ignored the dull throb in my head and went through my morning routine.

"Shit," I swore as I stepped on a shard.

As I reached down to remove it from my heel, my body lurched forward.

_Before I hit the ground I was in a car. My hands were little, so were my clothes. I was probably around six._

_"Why did they call me a monster?" My voice was shaking._

_"You aren't," the man driving stated simply._

_"We're gonna get you cleaned up, then we'll talk. Okay?" A woman turned back to face me. She was familiar, so much like me._

_My knee ached. It was bleeding from a cut matching a faint scar I had._

_I blinked, and I was somewhere new. The two adults from before were talking quietly with a man in a wheelchair._

_"She scraped her knee running out. We felt useless," the woman sighed._

_"How can we be good parents if we can't protect her from people like that? She shouldn't have to hear that."_

_Parents? Now the resemblance made sense. They were my birth parents. I thought they abandoned me, but they were so concerned with my well-being. What changed between that moment and Thanos finding me?_

_"Allow me to talk to her," the bald man wheeled towards me, "(Y/n) what happened today is not your fault. You are powerful, and special. Something not many people understand."_

_"Is that why they were scared?"_

_"Yes. Fear of difference is dangerous. Love who you are (Y/n), you are the next phase in adaptation. What do we always say?"_

"Mutant and proud." I was conscious again, uttering the words subconsciously.

That phrase made me want to cry out. Those words were so significant and yet I couldn't begin to understand why. They sent tremors through my heart and mind.

I was face down on the bathroom floor. Pushing myself up I brushed off my hands and shirt. I tugged up my pant leg. The scar matched the cut perfectly, discoloring my skin.

Sighing in frustration I leaned against the wall. Everything I had been told was being contradicted. Being abandoned by unloving parents. Being unloved by the people on Earth. Never being lied to.  
Opening my mouth, I whispered my complicated thoughts in their simplest form. Something not even the Mirror of Truth could tell me.

"Who am I?"


	2. Hey May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is a sad boi
> 
> Remember when Nasa said they'd go save Tony?
> 
> Yeah, good times

** **

** Peter **

Tony and Nebula were playing paper football.

Peter supposed it was their way of coping with everything, that and a way to deal with the boredom and threat of death looming over the trio. Twenty-one days had passed since The Snap. Since the universes populations had been cut in half, since (Y/n)...

"That was terrible. Now you have a chance to win."

Nebula flicked the paper football towards Tony, successfully aiming it through his fingers. Tony pulled back, defeated.

"You've won. Congratulations," Tony held out his hand, which Nebula hesitantly shook, "Fair game, good sport."

Nebula wasn't that bad. Once you got past the murder, and scowls, and natural instinct to kill, she was... nice? She helped Peter cope with The Snap more than he thought possible. Her outlook on life was morbid, but honest. Peter needed that more than blind optimism.

"Have fun?"

"It was fun."

"Alright then. Peter, you up for a game?" Tony turned to Peter, making him divert his gaze from the scratch in the table he'd been glaring at.

"Huh? Oh, no thanks Mr. Stark, I'm good."

"Alright kid. If that's the case then I'll be up front, let me know if you need anything." Tony swerved in his chair and took the ladder to the top deck.

"I'll be in Gamora's room," Nebula left as well. She was usually in Gamora's room, piecing together the life that Nebula missed out on as a sister or friend.

That left Peter alone with his thoughts, which was never a good thing. With his fear of falling into the pits of despair he held in his mind, he pulled his mask on to talk to Karen. Aside from Nebula and Tony, Karen was the other major player in Peter's health. She was an AI trained in therapeutic methods since Tony suffered so badly from being Iron Man.

"Hey Karen," Peter greeted, leaning back in his seat,

_"Hello Peter, how are you today?"_

"Not great, but still alive," Peter chuckled, though it wasn't a joke, "Mr. Stark has been making videos for Ms. Potts back on Earth. I don't think he wants me to know because it means things aren't looking good for us, but I do."

_"Would you like to make a video yourself?"_

Peter contemplated the option and didn't see any harm in it. (Y/n) did it, and he had watched her video at least once a day while stranded in space. He knew it by heart, not only the words but every expression she made, every crinkle between her brows or twitch of her lips. It was all he had left of her. He didn't have anything of hers from Earth, and they weren't going to make it back.

_"Recording now."_

"Hey May, or whoever is watching this. (Y/n)'s parents? Ned, MJ, Harry? Captain America? Who knows. I'm not too sure what to talk about here. Um... We lost. I'm sorry to whoever's watching this. I just became an Avenger, and I failed. Not only that, but I was dying and (Y/n) saved me... I loved her. If it is her parents watching this, I want you guys to know that. I loved her more than anything and if she asked me, I would have stopped being Spider-Man to make a steady life without hesitation. She died a hero. I'm sorry I couldn't do the same.

"Things aren't looking good here. The food and water ran out four days ago. Tony and Nebula gave the last of it to me. I tried to convince them to have it, but they wouldn't give up. The air is getting thin, so oxygen will run out soon, and that'll be it. I hope I was a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, with Riptide by my side... That's it I guess. Tell my friends and family I loved them. Bye."

_"Recording ended. Do you feel better?"_

"More or less," Peter twiddled his thumbs, "What do I do know?"

_"While I don't have any games on my system, I do have your past suit recordings. The Baby Monitor Protocol has never been turned off, and because of that you have hours of footage."_

"Are you serious?" Peter shot up, excitement over taking his malnourished exhaustion, "Play it! Anything with (Y/n), May, or my friends."

_"Let me pull it up."_

And so Peter watched. He watched hours of a time when he was happy, taking advantage of a short amount of time he wasn't aware of. Watching himself and (Y/n) develop as heroes was the best part, seeing the times his suit caught with his friends was up there as well. He hoped they were alive, or at the very least weren't scared.

"Watcha doing, kid?" Tony asked Peter, climbing down the ladder in front of him.

"Watching old footage from my suit. I forgot that Karen has a shared database with my old one."

"Any embarrassing stories from it?"

Peter thought of pretending to be Thor, "Nope, not really."

"I don't believe you for a second," Tony chuckled, trailing off before he could continue. He was falling asleep, ready to drift off for good, "I love you kid."

"Mr. Stark?" The videos were making Peter sleepy. Soothing music was playing now. When did he start playing that?

_"It's assisting you in falling asleep. I will always do what's best for you Peter."_

"Thanks Karen," Peter slumped down, noticing Nebula adjusting Tony in his seat, sighing. When did she come back? He was so tired he couldn't even sense someone approach.

Cold, Peter was cold, his whole body freezing to the touch. Lack of oxygen, right? That could cause your skin to cool? Peter couldn't think about that, it took too much to think. Peter closed his eyes, the sound of (Y/n)'s laughter and the music blending together into one melody, stripping away his fear of drifting off for the last time.

_Thump thun!_

Peter's shot up like a rocket. That sound came from outside the ship. Was something attacking them? Nebula was on it, climbing up to the cockpit to check the scanners. Tony opened his eyes blearily, groaning tiredly.

"We'll figure this out Mr. Stark," Peter climbed up the ladder after Nebula.

 _"Is a Tony Stark and Peter Parker on that ship?"_ A female voice broke through the com, _"I've been sent by Steve Rogers to retrieve them. It was damn hard finding you guys I'll tell you that."_

Nebula took the mic off the wall, finger hovering over the button. Before she pressed it, she looked to Peter.

"Do you know who Steve Rogers is?"

"Yes! He's Captain America, if he sent her then she's a good guy."

Nebula nodded, "Tony Stark and Peter Parker are on this ship. Oxygen runs out in hours, food ran out days ago. If you're going to assist us we need it now."

_"I can get you to Earth in an hour, sit back and try to relax. You're gonna be alright."_

The ship jerked forward and moved. This powerful woman was moving the Benatar in space, without another ship. In other words, she was moving it herself. Peter was astounded at the notion, excited to meet this new hero. Excitement, he hadn't felt that in a while.

He was going home.

** (Y/n) **

"(Y/n), I need you to do something for me."

"Of course Father, anything," I straightened my posture, holding back an excited grin. A mission, he was giving me a mission, another chance to get out of The Garden besides market days.

"A rebellion has formed on the planet Drall in the city Caprica. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem and I would allow it to die out, but they're tracking energy pulses. They're tech may soon have the ability to trace it to us."

I nodded, lifting myself to my toes, "I understand, don't worry Father."

Turning to my room I rushed off to change, but Father called me back before I could leave.

"Please pick up some medical supplies while you're there as well."

"Are you injured?"

Thanos looked at the glowing stones on his hand, "I will be. I must dispose of them. The Avengers will seek me out sooner rather than later. These can't exist when they do."

"I can deal with them now Father. I can go to Terran and take care of them, so they won't bother us again," I offered. If I went to Terra, I could search for more clues to my past, my parents, that boy Peter.

"No. That is one fight you would not win. Stick with the mission I gave you. We will move on from there. Trust me, daughter. Have I ever failed you?"

"No Father. I will handle the situation on Caprica and return with supplies to assist you."

Rushing from the room I ran into my room and pushed open my closet. In the back was a uniform. It was the one I used for all of my missions. Father got it from a contact, the mask meant to protect my identity. I'd had it as long as I could remember. Which was... Three weeks ago.

Shaking off the thought I changed, shifting to get comfortable in the tight fabric. I stopped in the bathroom to fill up my stores, making sure I had everything I'd need before I left.

"One more thing, daughter," Father stopped me once again, on the porch this time, "I'm proud of you. I've enjoyed this time."

"Thank you Father," I stumbled when he pulled me into a hug with his good hand, "I'll continue to make you proud."

"I know you will." the Mind Stone glowed, causing a headache to form behind my eyes. I winced, pinching the bridge of my nose.

My cuffs shifted against my wrists, rubbing the skin. My uniform, I'd had it since I was young. Father got it for me as a birthday present. I used it to assist him in balancing the universe. I would make him proud, and return home so we could continue life as it always was, minus my sisters betraying us and having to stay on a ship to control an empire.

"Do well, daughter."

Nodding, I rushed off to the ship parked behind the house. I stepped in, loading the coordinates for Caprica. Leaning back, I pushed it into jump speed and braced myself for a short but bumpy flight.

Landing half an hour later, I double checked my water stores and docked my ship at the nearest parking area, a supermarket. Stepping off, I peeled my mask off. No one would talk to me if I looked scary and intimidating in a mask. But being a sixteen-year-old Terran would open them up.

"Excuse me," I approached the nearest bystander, "My name is (Y/n). I'm looking for the rebellion."

The person bristled, shifting nervously, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. You must have the wrong planet, there's no rebellion here."

Narrowing my eyes, I leaned in, lowering my voice. People always need some reassurance of value. I was useless until I had something they wanted. The human nature being selfish would overwhelm caution, "I used to work for Thanos. I have a lot of information that could help. I heard this is where to go."

The citizen hesitated, scarlet skin wrinkling between their brows. They were thinking, which was a good sign. Finally, they motioned for me to follow after them. I smirked, too easy. Father would be proud to see how early I returned home.

They lead me across the city to a small building, marked with different symbols in their native language. I didn't understand them, but they likely were slogans of the rebellion, branding their building as the correct one to go to.

The woman I spoke to held up a ring on her hand to the guards at the doors. They nodded and allowed her in. I trailed close behind her, not encountering any resistance.

"I have a Terran here, says she worked for Thanos. She has valuable information," the woman said in a hushed tone to a broad-shouldered man. The man looked me over and motioned for me to follow him.

"Boss, we got some valuable information about Thanos."

Darkness enveloped the back room. Drallians were experts at seeing in the dark, explaining the atmosphere.

"What have you come to share with us?"

I feigned nervousness, looking at the guard behind us. The leader waved her hand, and he left.

"What are you trying to do here," I asked innocently, observing my surroundings.

"Track down Thanos," the leader stated simply. I smirked. So much misplaced optimism in their future and abilities.

"And when you find him?"

"Make him reverse the snap. If he can't we kill him." My breath hitched at the notion, "Now, what information do you have?"

"He knows about your little rebellion. He's sent his best to take you all out. You've gotten too close."

The leader turned around to face her window, turning her back on me. Rookie move. "That's deeply disturbing. We'll have to heighten security before they arrive."

I pulled on my mask, releasing my water stores, "Too late."

Before the leader could react, I froze her up to her mouth so she couldn't scream. Humming to myself, I walked around her desk.

"Drallians are made for heat, you don't do well in the cold. So we'll have to see how long it takes for hypothermia to set in. I won't be here to see it, but you'll suffer with your other rebellion members. Unity in death, right?"

Spinning around on my heels I waltzed out of the office. Passing by most of the rebellion members, the broad-shouldered guard stopped me.

"Why the mask?"

I titled my head, remaining silent. Instead, I spread my arms out. Water in the air, in the ground, the amount didn't matter; it was all the same medium. Father drilled that into me during early training, and I was thankful he did.

The ground shook, ice climbed up the walls and people rapidly, freezing everything. I stood my ground as nothing was left untouched. Even if they survived, all of their equipment would be trashed.

Stepping around the guard I walked outside. The guards at the door grabbed my arms. Frowning, I waved my hands. They flew backwards, ice taking them over as well.

Another thing Father taught me, blood was another medium. There was no such thing as playing dirty when it was for the right cause. I was simply using all the tools at my disposal.

Still, my gut clenched when I used that ability. But trying to think about why it upset me caused a headache to form. So I kept walking towards the supermarket.

It was very similar to the marketplace, I noted, when I stepped inside. They labeled the sections, making it easy to track down the medical supplies I needed for Father.

Bandages, burn cream, and an enhanced healing salve. I stockpiled the items, credits not a worry in my mind. This was my father's wellbeing on the line.

"Hope you found everything okay," the cashier looked over my items, "One hundred credits."

I pulled the chips from my pocket and handed them over. Bagging my items I asked-

"Is there a place I can refuel my ship?"

"We have a station behind us."

"Thanks."

I hurried out the store, climbing onto my ship to move it to the refuel station and refuel.

"I'll be home soon Father, don't worry."

** Peter **

The Benatar landing at the Avengers compound was smoother than Peter could have hoped for. Nebula slung Tony's arm around her shoulder and helped him towards the exit, pressing the opening button in the process.

Those two went down first, Tony sharing a tearful reunion with Pepper, and Nebula meeting with a Racoon? He'd need an explanation for that later.

"Peter, holy shit, Peter," May body slammed Peter with the strength of a quarterback. Peter grunted, pain spreading through his bruised everything. Most of his minor injuries healed on the ship, but there were still a few in the middle of the process, "You scared the shit out of me. Ned told me you went to space, and I didn't believe it until I saw the news and then there was The Snap and you still weren't back and-"

"I'm alive May," Peter hugged his aunt bag with equal strength, shedding tears on her jacket without restraint, "I'm sorry. I had to help Mr. Stark. We tried so hard."

"Oh honey, I know you did," May brushed the hair out of Peter's face, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Peter's eyes landed on two approaching figures, they were running towards the ship, late to the greeting party. It was strange, seeing two normal civilians around people like Captain America and Black Widow, the same could be said with May.

"Where's (Y/n)?" Her mom stared at the open ship entrance, eyes shining, "She's just on the ship, right? Gathering her things? Or waiting to surprise us?"

Peter pulled away from May, approaching (Y/n)'s parents. Whether it was a positive or negative that they survived while their daughter didn't, it was up to Peter to break the news to them. Tony was in no state to do so. Peter probably wasn't either, but he had to rip the bandaid off.

(Y/n)'s dad placed a shaking hand on Peter's shoulder, the fear transferring, "Peter, where is our daughter?"

"I'm so sorry-" Lucas broke off into a sob before Peter could finish, knowing the end of that statement. Clara closed her eyes, pulling her husband close, "She died saving my life. I couldn't do anything to save her, but she saved me."

"The Snap didn't kill her?" Clara wondered, more composed in her grief than Lucas. She was on the verge of breaking down, and Peter wished she would instead of holding it back.

"It did. Sort of. _I_ was being killed by the snap, but she used her powers to trade places with me. When I realized what she was doing, it was too late."

"I didn't say I love you when she left for school, I made a joke about her skipping the field trip and watched her go," Lucas blubbered, his sadness crippling. Peter held back his own sobs. These were her parents, he couldn't lose himself in front of them.

"She gave up her life to save you?" the dam broke behind Clara's eyes, "Of course she died being a hero."

"I'm so sorry. Please, yell at me, hit me, anything you do I deserve," Peter all but begged the parents, desperate to receive some form of punishment to appease the guilt eating him alive. It was his fault. His fault. His fault. His fault. It was a mantra flashing in front of his eyes in a never-ending taunt.

"Be mad at you?" Lucas regained some of his composure, pulling Peter in close and squeezing him tightly, "You idiot, how did you manage to get my daughter? It was her choice to save you. We lost our only child, the most important thing in our lives, but it was her choice."

"How could we always say that we never owned her, that no one could own her, and push the blame on someone else for her using her free will?" Clara continued, a sob followed by a smile, "You being here is like having a piece of her with us."

"You two are too nice," Peter broke down, throwing his arms around the pair. Those parents, who had every reason to hate his guts, were putting aside their grief after _just_ receiving the news their daughter died, to comfort Peter, "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. We were supposed to be heroes together forever, _be_ together forever. Instead, we're left with this."

May came up behind the three, hugging them from behind. Peter knew Jess would be there if she could, but she wasn't which led to one conclusion. Ned, MJ, and Harry weren't there either. So many lost.

Still, among the grief of the Avengers, the confusion of Cap and Black Widow, and the pity from Captain Marvel, the (L/n) family and Parker family came together to grieve (Y/n).

**(Y/n)**

After refuelling I set the Garden's coordinates and left the atmosphere. Tracking the jump points, I prepped the ship, ready to jump-

_Fwoom!_

I shrieked in pain as a surge of energy hit my body. Falling out of my chair, my knees slammed into the deck, most likely bruising them.

"Shit!"

Everything hurt. My mind tearing itself in two. Slamming my head to the floor was nothing compared to this.

_"The neck where your adam's apple would be if you were a man. It's called Stomach Nine. Twist hard enough and they'll be out like a light."_

Who taught me that? It didn't matter. If it got rid of the torment, I'd do it. Reaching for my neck, I found the pressure point. Pinching and twisting. I was out.

_"I would like to offer you a place on a team of mutants that does hero work. The X-Men."_

_"The X-Men?" I asked. A bald man in a wheelchair was in front of me, leading me to a door with X's on the doorways._

_"A team of exceptional mutants that work to stop organizations that wish to harm or kill our kind. All the team are staff, and adults, but an exception can be made for you."_

_New memory._

_"Look kid," Tony Stark, famous in space and on Earth, sighed, "You aren't technically a criminal, I can't do anything to you since you weren't asked to sign the accords. But you're in the wrong."_

_I clenched my fist, freezing the water around Tony, "You were one of my heroes Mr. Stark, I hope we can meet again under better circumstances."_

_New memory._

_"Why do you sit with us then?" That recurring boy, Peter asked a girl I was sitting next to in a school cafeteria._

_"Because I don't have any friends," The girl looked up from her book at me, "Because I have one friend."_

_Friends. So I was friends with this girl? Her only friend at that. Peter held up his hands. I slid down the table and sat next to another boy, and cross from Peter._

_"I'm (Y/n)," I greeted the other boy with a smile._

_"I'm Ned, and this is Peter."_

_New memory._

_"Peter," a handsome boy approached the group from my last memory, "I hope you remember me."_

_"Yeah! It's great to see you again Harry," Peter greeted Harry excitedly, "This is Ned, MJ, and (Y/n)."_

_All of us smiled. I waved. Harry met my eyes._

_"Nice to meet you all."_

_New memory._

_"So... What are we going to do now?"_

_I reached forward and pulled down Peter's, Spider-Man's, mask._

_"We're gonna finish what we started yesterday."_

_I tilted my head and kissed him. Even there, I could feel his lips against mine, and a great relief on my chest. It wasn't perfect, but my body and heart were singing joyously. When we pulled apart, we were grinning._

_"I should um, I should go, my parents are waiting."_

_Parents? So I still had parents that recently? What? A year or two at most ago? I seemed so close to them._

_One more._

_Peter and I were dancing on the rooftop, a Terran song playing in the background. I felt his shoulders rise as he took in a breath. My gaze shifted to his face, he was nervous. Was this the moment he betrayed me and turned me into the Avengers? Is this the moment I needed to confirm what Father had been telling me?_

_"I love you," he whispered, almost inaudibly._

_"I know," I mumbled into his shirt. What? He wasn't turning me in? He was telling me he loved me? "Bug-Boy we've said I love you plenty of times before, you don't have to be nervous to say it to me."_

_We had said it before. What was so special about this time? My subconscious was screaming. What the hell was going on?_

_"This time is different," Peter pulled back and pressed his forehead against mine, "Because I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I love you. I know that now."_

_"Shit," I whispered. He was dead serious. He really loved me. "I love you too Peter."_

My eyes snapped pen. Pushing myself up I checked the time. I'd been out for nearly a day. I was hungry, and had to use the bathroom, but I was alive- the pain had stopped.

Setting my ship up for the jumps again, my mind replayed those various memories. So many, so much to handle, and each one was more Earth shattering than the last.

Earth was more important than Father let on.


	3. Fractured Hold

** Peter **

"It's been twenty-three days since Thanos came to Earth," Rhodey updated the three space lagged heroes.

"World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census, And it looks like he did... He did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures," Nat continued.

The Avengers, May, and (Y/n)'s parents watched as the troves of dead heroes and allies appeared on the screen. Everyone seemed to grimace when (Y/n)'s picture appeared, looking away.

When they entered the compound, medical equipment was ready for them. The three got a quick checkup, and Tony and Peter were hooked up to IVs imrpove their physical states.

"Where is he now? Where?" Tony questioned.

"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through."

"Excuse me, what's wrong with Mr. Thor?" Peter pointed out the sulking god in the corner.

"He's pissed," Rocket, the talking racoon- still weird- explained, "He thinks he failed. Which he did, but there's a lot of that goin' around, ain't there?"

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear," Tony commented, looking over the strange alien? Experiment? Animal?

"Maybe I am."

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing."

"Tony, you and Peter fought him," Steve stated the obvious.

"Who told you that?" Tony asked sarcastically, almost venomously, "Didn't fight him. No. He wiped our faces with a planet while a Bleecker Street magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight..."

The parents bristled at the notion. Tony Stark struggling to fight Thanos, and their kids went head to head with him? Look at how that situation turned out.

"Did he give you any clues? Any coordinates, anything?"

"He was acting weird around (Y/n)," Peter stated quietly, avoiding her parents' curious gazes, "He recognized her and protected her when he brought the moon down."

"(Y/n)'s never been to space before. The X-Men had a few missions up there back in the day but as spaceships got safer, they didn't feel the need to interfere," Clara stated, looking to Lucas for further elaboration.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense for Thanos to act like he knew her."

Tony looked at Lucas curiously, "You work for me don't you? You're one of the SHIELD transfers. Wow, surprised I did put two and two together. I did my best with her, you guys did better. Out there she was-"

"Tony maybe you shouldn't-"

Tony, at an all-time high with frustration and all-time low for stability, spoke up, "You know, I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

"Tony I'm gonna need you to focus," Steve prompted, making Tony even angrier.

"And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry," Tony smacked his bowl of food away from himself, "You know what I need? I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling-" Tony stood up abruptly, ripping out his IV, ignoring the protests of Rhodey and Peter.

"Mr. Stark you probably shouldn't..."

"Tony, Tony, Tony..."

"That what we needed was a suit of armor around the world. Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms, or not. That's what we needed."

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve asked in a calm voice, trying not to rile Tony up any more.

"I said we'd lose. You said, 'We'll do that together, too.' Well guess what, Cap? We lost."

"Mr. Stark maybe you should sit down," Peter suggested carefully, taking the same approach as Steve. He didn't want to tick Tony off more.

"Adult talk Peter," Tony waved his hand dismissively, eyes never leaving Steve's, "You weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers? We're the _Avengers_? Not the Prevengers?"

Rhodey grabbed Tony's arms, trying to put him back in his seat, "Okay. You made your point. Just sit down, okay?"

Tony writhed in Rhodey's grasp, "No, no. Here's my- She's great, by the way," Tony pointed at Carol, speaking over Rhodey.

"Tony, sit, sit down!"

"We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mills, plus Peter," Tony finally jerked away, strolling towards Steve, "I got nothing for you, Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust, you liar..."

Tony ripped his arc reactor off his chest, slapping it into Steve's hand, "Here, take this. You find him and you put that on," Tony stumbled, nearly falling over, "You hide."

"Tony!"

"I'm fine. I-" Tony fell unconscious to the floor.

Clara knelt down next to Tony, checking his pulse as Rhodey flipped his body over, "He's okay, just an idiot for taking his IV out so early. He needs rest, and a new IV."

Bruce, frozen a half crouching position, stared at Clara in shock. She noticed, raising her brows and shaking Bruce out of his state.

"Sorry, it's just that usually I'm the doctor here. Kind of weird."

Clara hooked her arms under Tony's shoulders, "I'm a nurse. I work at the hospital Stephen Strange used to. I'm used to stuff like this. Now help me get him into a bed and I'll take care of him."

"That's my wife," Lucas whispered to no one in particular, as if the room didn't already know, "This would be an interesting story to tell (Y-"

Lucas cut himself off, the name hanging unsaid in the air. The room was plunged into a somber silence, the slip a reminder of their dire situation. Even Clara and Rhodey paused in their efforts to move Tony. Clearing his throat, Lucas left the room. No one moved to stop him. Clara had thrown herself into work to cope, Lucas was trudging through his emotions.

Peter wanted to curl into a ball and cry. He was so grateful to be back on Earth surrounded by his childhood idols, but there was no happiness there, no childish joy. May placed her hand on Peter's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Peter looked up from his IV-ed hand and met her eyes, understanding. She went through the same thing with Uncle Ben. They had each other, but they also had more than that.

Everyone in the compound had each other, whether or not they were happy with it. On that note, the team followed Clara and Rhodey to watch over Tony's health. Bruce prepped a sedative, injecting it into Tony's arm along with a new IV. Rhodey, trusting the professionals, left to give the others the update.

"Bruce have Tony a sedative. He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day."

Captain Marvel turned, "You guys take care of him. And I'll bring a Bezurian elixir when I come back."

"Where are you going?" Steve questioned, brows furrowed.

"To kill Thanos," she shrugged.

Nat rushed forward, "Hey. You know we usually work as a team here, and between you and I we're also a little fragile."

"We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight, too," Steve added.

"You know where he is?" Rhodey asked, leaning on the doorway.

"I know people who might."

"Don't bother," Nebula spoke for the first time since they arrived at the compound, "I can tell you where Thanos is."

Almost instinctively, everyone crossed the half back into the conference room. It was ten times more convenient that way.

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. Then when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask, where would we go once his plan was complete? His answer was always the same. To The Garden."

"That's cute," Rhodey quipped, "Thanos has a retirement plan."

"So where is he, then?" Steve flicked the holo-table on. It showed Earth.

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions," Rocket climbed onto the table, "No one's ever seen anything like it... Until one day ago. On this planet."

The hologram replicated exactly what Rocket said, travelling galaxies over to a new planet, similar to Earth but much greener. The power surge spreading out from it was identical to the one shot off from Earth.

"Thanos is there," Nebula concluded.

Natasha studied the hologram intently, "He used the stones again..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Bruce's tone held an obvious warning, "We'd be going in short-handed, you know?"

"Look, he still got the stones, so..."

"So let's get him," Carol proposed simply. She took in everyone's surprised gazes, "We use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that," Steve gave Carol a nod of respect. She nodded back. Peter marvelled. Silent Captain Code.

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this, we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try," Nat added in.

Peter cleared his throat, "I know I'm the youngest here, I probably don't have much of a voice, but I say we do it. If we can bring everyone back, amazing. If we can't... At least we can get revenge."

May laid a hand on Peter's shoulder, breathing out shakily. She knew he wanted to go.

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce questioned.

"Because before you didn't have me."

Peter could have smiled for the first time in nearly a month. (Y/n) would have loved Carol. Both of them were powerful, and headstrong. They would have got along like a house on fire.

Rhodey rolled his eyes, "Hey, new girl, everybody in this room is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe," Carol smirked, "And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

Thor rose from his seat loudly, walking to Carol with long strides. Carol raised a brow, crossing her arms. Thor frowned, outstretching his hand past her shoulder. Stormbreaker flew into his hand. Carol tilted her head, no signs of weakness.

"I like this one," Thor nodded in approval.

Steve stared at the hologram of The Garden, "Let's go get this son of a bitch."

"Everyone who's going, suit up. I'll talk to Clara and Pepper about Tony. It's gonna be a long day," Nat made a hurry motion with her hand.

The Avengers dispersed, going to grab their suits and equipment. Peter fiddled with his IV before standing. He wanted to talk to Clara about taking it out so he could go on the mission with the others. He was better off than Tony, and there was no way in hell he wouldn't be going to face the lunatic who took (Y/n) from him.

"No," Aunt May bent down to meet Peter's eyes, gripping his shoulders, "You aren't going into space again. I almost lost you last time, and you want to go face Thanos again? No."

"May please, I have to do this for (Y/n)-"

"Don't use her death as an excuse for revenge," May shook Peter gently, "You know she wouldn't want that."

"She's dead," Peter snapped, gripping his IV pole and stepping away, "How would you know what she wants?"

"Peter-"

"Let him do it," Lucas leaned against the metal doorway, eyes red and arms crossed.

"Lucas?"

"I know Peter isn't my son, or my nephew, but you and I both know that he would have been. He needs this May, he will never move on without this closure. And if we can get everyone back... We need to do it."

May's breath hitched. She looked to Peter, who was shaking with either exhaustion or anger. Cupping his cheek, she nodded, sniffling.

"I can't believe people keep convincing me to let you do hero stuff."

"It's a (L/n) thing," Lucas shrugged, shooting Peter a wink, "We have a way with people. Peter, if you have the chance to get our daughter back, do it. But if you can't, then you come back here, and you keep your head high. You did what you could, and that's what matters. You're family."

Peter nodded obediently, "Thank you Mr. (L/n). I'll get her back."

** (Y/n) **

The jumps back to The Garden were torture. Too long and too short. I barely trusted myself to land the ship behind our home.

All those memories... years on Earth with people who loved me. How could Father say they hurt me to the point of mental trauma? Nothing made sense but my heart told me everything was falling into place.

Gathering my things I also gathered my thoughts. I would ask Father while I was tending to his wounds. He enjoyed talking while working. He spoke of our future and his past. Of Nebula and Gamora, New York, and his empire.

Jumping from the ramp I jogged towards the house. Another ship caught my eyes. Not aware Father was having guests over, I observed the ship. It was brightly colored, the shape unlike our allies. Almost as if...

"Father!" My pace quickened to a sprint, taking the steps two at a time until I burst through the door, "Fa-"

My desperate call was cut off by a horrified screech. My scream. Father... with the Avengers around his head.

"What did you do? _What did you do?_ "

"Nebula, who's she?" Captain America looked to my alienated sister.

"I don't know. I never met her before."

Releasing my stores, shaking in anger, I took stance, "You'll pay for that."

I was clearly outnumbered and out-powered. But in that moment, it didn't matter. My father was dead.

Captain Marvel held out her fist, a powerful blast of energy shooting out. Freezing a thick shield in front of me, it still knocked me out of the house and down the stairs. Groaning, I pushed myself up. Despite my confusion, despite my doubts, Thanos took care of me.

He... he improved me.

The Avengers stepped down the rickety steps cautiously. They thought I was dangerous. They were right.

Pulling water from the plant life around me, they turned brown and brittle. Well worth it for my cause. I went for Captain America's legs first, pulling my forward and slamming him against a support beam. It nearly crippled from the force. War Machine was above me, aiming artillery. Swinging my hand up I flooded his suits' joints, freezing the water so he couldn't move. Black Widow and Nebula sprinted towards me, falling forwards as their feet froze.

"Interesting powers. He give those to you too?" Captain Marvel held out her fist again.

Staying silent, I ducked under the shot. I was adapting quickly; they pulled the same moves. I stuck low to the ground, sprinting towards her and tackling her to the ground.

"Argh!" Thor tackled me off of his ally, pinning me.

"I didn't want to do this," I hissed, glaring at the recovering heroe,s "But you've left me no choice."

Clenching my fist, the Avengers immediately lost control of their bodies. Thor stiffly stood and stepped off me, falling into line with the other heroes. It confused them, yelling out in protest.

"What the hell is this, kid?" War Machine shouted out, "Can anyone move?"

"She's controlling our bodies," Black Widow grunted, face contorting.

"All powerful, and you're at my mercy when I close my fist," I stalked towards them, fuming, "Earth's mightiest heroes? The best defense against my Father? No. You're pathetic."

"Hey guys is everything okay here?" A young voice called, emerging from their ship, "Do you need help against Thanos?"

I turned to the source, ready to make them fall in line with the others. What I didn't expect, was to see the source of my mental torment, of my doubts and confusion against my Father. Spider-Man, Peter Parker, the boy I loved who loved me back.

"Oh, who are you? Karen deploy legs!" Legs emerged from the back of the suit, springing him towards me without warning.

I shook off my hesitance. He was with the Avengers. They hurt me. They killed my father. Whatever we had was gone. I kept my eyes on his form, ready to take him over-

_Clunk!_

One leg slammed against the mask covering my face. Instinctively, I flinched back, but the damage had already been done. My mask was at least ten feet away from me, too far to retrieve and replace safely.

"(Y/n)?" The boy paused in his ministrations.

"How do you know that?" Stupid question. I knew how he knew. But he still remembered me, he stopped attacking when he saw me. He wasn't treating me like the enemy anymore.

"Thor now!"

The metal butt of Stormbreaker slammed against my temple. My body crumpled to the ground, but not before I saw Peter rip off his mask and run towards me.

** Peter **

On the Guardian's ship, the Benatar- with fresh repairs from Rocket- the Avengers were geared up and ready. Peter had gotten permission from Clara to go on the mission, albeit he didn't get the crap beat out of him again and he relaxed on the way there.

"Okay. Who here hasn't been to space?" Rocket called back as he started up the ship. Peter nearly swelled with pride when most of the Avengers raised their hand, "You better not throw up on my ship."

The Avengers exchanged nervous looks at that. Peter leaned his head against the back of his seat, shutting his eyes. He didn't know what 'jumping' felt like, but it couldn't be worse than their crash landing on Titan.

"Approaching jump in 3... 2... 1."

Everyone's bodies slammed into their seats as the ship jumped to hyperdrive. It was Star Wars in real life. If only Ned was there for Peter to text...

They apparently had three jumps before they would end up at The Garden, which left approximately four hours. Peter figured he could sleep for three and a half of those and prepare a plan with the team for the last half hour.

"Wake me up when they start planning," Peter told Karen, slouching down and shutting his eyes.

For the first time in a month, Peter slept well.

~*~

_"Time to wake up Peter, you're approaching the last jump."_

Peter groaned, eyes slowly blinking open. They hit the last jump, waking him up like being splashed in the face with water. Snapping up, Peter looked around him. Rocket, Thor and Nebula were still up front. Steve and Nat were probably somewhere else on the ship talking strategy.

"Have they talked about what we'll do when we get down there?" Peter asked quietly.

_"No. I think they're winging it."_

"That's not gonna end well."

 _"I'll head down for recon."_ Captain Marvel, now outside the ship, flew in front of the cockpit.

Only ten minutes later, Captain Marvel was flying back up. She was crazy fast and efficient.

_"No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him."_

"Then that's enough."

The Benatar entered the atmosphere, landing in the exact coordinates of the power blast. The Avengers stared at the home Thanos was meant to be staying in. It wasn't a fortress, nor was it what they expected of Thanos the Titan. It was homemade.

"Let's go get him."

The Avengers and Guardians stood from their seat, rushing to the door. Peter was right behind them, stepping back when Captain America stood in front of him.

"Stay here kid. Guard the ship."

Peter frowned under his mask. They let him come so far just to leave him on the ship to 'guard' it?

"I can fight. I'm fine-"

"Queens, listen," Steve put a hand on Peter's shoulder, people had been doing that a lot lately, and sighed, "I understand that you want to avenge (Y/n). She was a great kid, and hero, but this isn't the way to go. Things could get ugly in there, and if something happens to us, you need to report back to Earth, carry on the Avengers name. Understand?"

Peter nodded, albeit hesitantly, and turned around, searching for any windows he could watch the action from. None, only the front ones that were conveniently facing away from Thanos' home. Peter sighed, and plopped down in one of the seats, resting his head on his hand to wait until they got back.

Five minutes later, he heard a loud crash from outside. He ignored it. He was supposed to stay in the ship. A few more crashes sounded. Peter stayed still. It wasn't until everything went silent that he got curious.

Opening the ramp, he cautiously stepped down and into the open.

"Hey guys is everything okay here?" Peter called out, still not in the line of vision of the field, "Do you need help against Thanos?"

Everything was clear when he saw the Avengers in a straight line, rigid. Their face were their own, but their bodies weren't. The source was a girl, young by the looks of it. Human.

"Oh, who are you? Karen deploy legs!" Legs emerged from the back of Peter's suit, springing him forwards.

The girl was hesitating. She could have easily controlled Peter like she did the other Avengers. Such a powerful lineup and they fell under her control with a clench of her fist. Peter was right in front of her now. One of his legs smacked her mask. The strike landed with a resonating _thunk_.

The mask was sent far away from her reach, revealing his face. Peter stepped back, ready for an attack. What he wasn't ready for, was for the girl to face him and reveal who she was.

"(Y/n)?"

Peter's world crashed down around him. There was no denying it was her. The blue streaks in her hair, the shape of her nose, her eyes. It was her. Somehow she escaped death, and she was working with Thanos, whom they just killed.

"How do you know that?" The girl asked in a panic, but she wasn't shocked.

"Thor now!"

In the process of Peter and (Y/n) losing their focus, (Y/n) lost her hold on the Avengers. Which was another thing, (Y/n) had a strong moral compass, and bloodbending destroyed her from the inside out. Now she was doing it casually?

The metal butt of Stormbreaker slammed against (Y/n)'s temple. As (Y/n) fell to the ground Peter sprung forward, ripping off his mask. He positioned his body over her protectively, in case the others got trigger-happy.

Reaching out with shaking hands, Peter ran one of her blue streaks through his fingers. Real, they were real. All of her was real.

"You know her?" Thor questioned, Stormbreaker returning to his hand.

"This is (Y/n)," Peter choked back a sob. She had died in his arms, he mourned her.

Nat checked her pulse and breathing, "You said she was dead. She seems pretty alive to me."

"She was. It's like-"

"Thanos brought her back," Nebula looked at the girl who could call her sister. Both of them stolen from their homes to become Thanos' daughter, "Theoretically, he could have. She wasn't meant to die in the first place, bring her back shifted the balance, but it could have been done."

"She didn't have those before," Steve pointed out the metal above her brow, "It isn't part of her mutation, that just the hair."

"Thanos 'improved' her," Nebula motioned to her own changes, "If he was still sending her on missions, and she showed weakness, he would have made adjustments."

Thor slung the girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, lumbering to the ship.

"Wait, Thor, are you crazy?" Rocket ran after his friend, the others following, "She controlled out bodies, you saw that!"

"I'm gonna have to agree with the Racoon here," Rhodey cut in, "She's crazy powerful, bringing her back with us is dangerous."

"So is leaving her to fester in hate," Thor laid the girl on the med-table, staring her down, "Powerful ally, dangerous enemy."

"Ally? Thor, she tried to _kill us_."

"She's not evil. I don't know what happened," Peter grabbed (Y/n)'s cold hand. She was alive. He couldn't process the fact. Why did Thanos bring her back? Her of all people? Why, to raise her?

"Maybe he was controlling her," Captain Marvel suggested, "He had the Mind Stone, he could have messed with her head."

Nat rushed around, searching different cupboards. The hit from Stormbreaker left an angry gash on (Y/n)'s head, one that needed attention.

Steve's brows furrowed, "All it took was a hit to the head for Clint."

"(Y/n)'s under combined power. Bursts of mental reconstruction so strong that Thanos destroying the stones probably only fractured his hold. It's why she attacked us, but also why she hesitated with Peter."

"Either way, we should give her a once over before we handle things more thoroughly on Earth. Boys, out."

At Nat's command, Steve, Rocket, Rhodey, and Thor left. Peter hesitated. If he left, would she be gone again when he came back?

"Would (Y/n) give you permission to stay?"

Peter nodded. Nebula easy located the zipper on (Y/n)'s uniform, tugging it down.

"Oh my God," Nat whispered. Her eyes weren't on the varying scars- every hero had those- but on the four metal lines beginning in the middle of her hips and stopping where her ribs began- two on each side of her navel. They were almost glowing, the metal holding shimmering with power, "Look what he did to her."

Peter focused on the obstruction rather than how revealed (Y/n) was. It wasn't right to focus on her near nudity when there were larger issues at hand. Thanos changed her, mentally and physically.

"We'll need Bruce or Tony to look at them, see what they connect to and what they do," Nat pulled the zipper back up, scared that if she went further, she would find more changes. She focused on the cut on her head, disinfecting it and wrapping it.

"She needs to be contained," Nebula stated the obvious, "We don't know when she'll wake up."

"Do you have anything here?"

"There's a holding cell in the back of the ship."

So they moved (Y/n) to the holding cell. Peter sat outside, catatonic and lost in his confusion and reverse grief.

~*~

(Y/n) never woke up, too out of it to do so. Peter was glad, he couldn't handle her in this state by himself. He wasn't a match for her power, he could admit that without his pride being hurt, and seeing the love of his life so out of it was discerning.

"It might be best if we break it to her parents slowly," Steve watched as Peter lifted (Y/n) into his arms, "We'll have Bruce hook everything up and sit them down to talk to them. Peter, I think you should come with us when we do."

"Okay," Peter carried (Y/n) through a side door, sure to stay out of the sight of Clara and Lucas, both of whom were talking to May in the meeting room.

He stepped into the med-room next to Tony's, meeting Bruce inside. Bruce already had everything set up. Setting (Y/n) down gingerly, Peter hovered over Bruce as he put in the IV, speaking up when Bruce pulled out hefty cuffs.

"What are those?"

"She attacked you, we can't risk that happening again."

Peter couldn't argue with that, but it still irked him to see (Y/n) being locked up like some criminal.

"Peter," Nebula leaned against the doorframe, "(Y/n)'s parents and your aunt are waiting in the conference room."

Panic, it flooded Peter's body, freezing him in place. Bruce looked up from his work.

"If they weren't mad at you when you told them she died, they aren't going to be mad when you tell them she's alive."

Peter nodded, following Nebula to the conference room. Steve, Nat, and Captain Marvel were either sitting or standing across from the adults, all of them torn up.

"Steve just told us Thanos destroyed the stones," May sniffled, running her hands under her eyes, "They're all gone for good, aren't they?"

"Um, not everyone," Peter shifted nervously, "When we got there and killed Thanos... something happened. (Y/n), she's alive."

The three gasped, tears gathering in their eyes at the joyous news.

"Are you serious?" Clara questioned.

"Yeah, I am."

Lucas shot up like a bullet, running for the door. Clara and May were close behind. Peter rushed behind them He didn't get to tell them that-

"Why is she all locked up?"

(Y/n), just waking up, jerked against her binds. Scowling, she faced the group, lurching forward even though it wouldn't do any good.

"Why am I here? Let me go! You killed my father. All of you need to pay for it! He was all I had!" (Y/n) squirmed and writhed in the bed, wrinkling the sheets and pushing them to the foot of the bed, "The last time you had me you tortured me! You betrayed me! What are you gonna do now that your dirt is in the open?"

The Avengers in the room flinched at the concept or betraying and torturing (Y/n). Despite her loyalty to the X-Men, she was an Avenger too. Peter remembered that on the ship heading to Titan, she called her an X-Avenger.

"Father?" Lucas stepped towards his daughter, "(Y/n), I'm right here."

"Mr and Mrs (L/n)," Peter pulled them into the corner, "Thanos used the stones on her. She doesn't remember us, she thinks Thanos is her Father. Captain Marvel said that destroying the stones would have fractured his hold on her, but she attacked us."

Tony strutted out of his room as if he hadn't previously freaked out and then fainted. He peeked into (Y/n)'s room, still threatening and yelling angrily, and turned to the group in the corner for an explanation. He was on the brink of tears again.

"Tony- Tony, Jesus don't run off like that," Pepper ran in, gasping, "(Y/n)?"

"Alright, a lot of people in here is going to overwhelm her. If you're gonna talk, go out," Bruce shooed them out, "Clara, you wanna stay?"

"Do I wanna stay with my daug- Is that even a question," Clara kissed Lucas on the cheek, "I'll take good care of her. Figure this out with the others, okay?"

Peter, Pepper, Tony, Lucas, and May stepped out into the hallway to continue their conversation and still keep an eye on (Y/n) and her wellbeing.

"How the hell is she alive, Peter?" Tony's eyes never left the girl, "We watched her- she traded her life for yours. The magician said an eye for an eye."

"Thanos brought her back, but he messed with her head. She thinks we tortured her, betrayed her."

"My father was not a liar," Nebula conveniently dropped into the conversation, "But he was a master at bending the truth. You _did_ hurt her, when your team split into two and fought at the airport. Thor told me. Thanos gave her broad statements, and she made them what they are now. Your betrayal could have happened at anytime. You could have hurt her on accident and it could be considered betrayal."

The group simmered in their thoughts. It made sense. If Thanos gave her small, broad statements, she could have easily taken them farther and developed them into a deeper distrust for the Avengers.

"We need to help her. We can't leave her like that, nothing she believes is true," Peter slammed his fist into his hand, determined.

Tony sighed, glancing back into the room, "I don't know if we can, Pete."

"She saved me Mr. Stark. What kind of boyfriend, what kind of hero, would I be if I didn't save her?"

"You'd be someone with common sense. Clint got out of the mind control because Loki wasn't using the stone's full power. Thanos completely rewrote (Y/n)'s head."

"Well, I know something that can do the same thing as the stone."

"If you say true love I'm leaving."

Peter could have laughed. Even out of it, Tony would still be Tony, "No. There was a mutant on her old team, Jean, she's crazy powerful with mental stuff."

Lucas pulled out his phone, dialing Xavier's number, "I talked to Charles the day after the snap, but I haven't seen him. The X-Men took a giant hit, so did the school, so he's been busy. But he's going to make time for her. Charles, I need you at the Avengers facility _now_. It's (Y/n)... yes she's alive... Thanos brought her back... not sure. Just get over here, we have a problem that only you can help with."

Lucas pulled the phone from his ear, "Jean died in the snap, meaning Charles is our best bet to bring (Y/n)'s mind back."

"It could work," Nat nodded, butting in, "Her mutation saved Peter, so he could save her if he's powerful enough."

"He is, trust us."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Proximity alarm," Steve called from the conference room, "It's a blue man and a bald man in a wheelchair? Is this Xavier?"

"Let him in," Lucas called back, leaving to guide the two to the med-bay.

Not even two minutes later, Lucas came back with Professor X and Kurt, both of whom were stressed beyond compare. That was saying a lot, compared to the mission the Avengers just went on.

Peter knew part of the reason the Avengers were so concerned with (Y/n) was as a distraction. They just learned there was no chance to bring everyone back. But it didn't matter to Peter. They were helping, that was all that mattered.

"The students are out of control," Charles explained their flustered states briefly, "The stress from the snap diminished their control over their mutations. It's been damage control for a month and things are only now dying down."

Kurt peered inside (Y/n)'s room, "The rest of the remaining X-Men are still at the school. There aren't many."

Xavier rolled into (Y/n)'s room. If he was shocked by her state he wasn't showing it. Remaining stone faced, yet gentle, he approached her bed.

"You know us, (Y/n). You know you do. You just need to unlock the safe in your mind to show it."

"I-I don't understand," for the second time, (Y/n) showed hesitation in her loyalty to Thanos, "I know all of you, but Father said..."

"It's time for you to remember," Charles placed two fingers to his temple, and a hand on (Y/n)'s head, "The hold is already fractured, I just need to break it. That much I can do."

The room was thick with tension. It was broken when (Y/n) screamed, body contorting in pain. Peter stepped forward, but Lucas held him back.

"Let him do this."

The screaming lasted half a minute. Then, it stopped. (Y/n)'s body fell to the bed, and Charles fell back into his wheelchair, both of them drained. If Xavier really brought her memories back, he would be the most powerful telepath in the world.

"Aside from Jean, I am," Charles looked back at Peter, having read his thoughts, "It was difficult to locate her old memories, and a struggle to draw them out. I had to leave before I could be sure. I don't know if it worked."

"(Y/n), honey?" Clara took a cautious step towards her daughter, "Do you remember us? Do you know what happened?"

(Y/n) looked at her Mother, then the group surrounded her, eyes foggy. Blinking rapidly, she breathed out deeply.

"I-"


	4. In My Head

**5 Years Later**

"Morgoona? Morgan H Stark?" Tony's clapping and footsteps neared the small fort, louder and louder the closer he got.  
Morgan giggled, leaping out at her father with Pepper's anniversary gift on her head.

"Where're your minions?"

Peter and I poked our heads out of the fort, laughing along with Morgan. Climbing out, we both breathed out a sigh of relief. When Morgan was smaller, and when we were younger, it was a much easier fit.

"It's so hard to fit three people in there," I breathed out, "It was so cramped my knees were in my ears."

"But we all still fit!" Morgan beamed, holding up her mom's helmet.

"Did you steal this?" Tony asked with a smile, taking the mask from her, "You shouldn't have this. It's a special anniversary present for your mom I've been working on."

"She _found_ it," I corrected, knowing full well she had been specifically searching for it in the garage.

Tony shook his head in disbelief, "All of you are unbelievable. Lunch is ready if you're done lying."

Peter and I shared a laugh. Morgan ran ahead of Tony, him following just behind. Peter and I were a bit farther back, ambling together.

"My parents want us to have brunch with them tomorrow," I informed the man, taking his hand, "They invited May too, something about 'soon to be family brunch'."

"They do know we aren't even engaged yet, right?" Peter chuckled, "As long as we make it back to the school in time to lesson plan we'll be fine."

I nodded in understanding, "And Ramonda wants us to visit Wakanda to discuss improvements with M'Bak-"

_"Do you understand daughter? Why I'm doing this?"_

_"I do, Father. You're improving me so I don't fail."_

_"Good," Thanos lifted his damaged, gauntleted hand, causing the stones to glow, "You will be in pain, but your improvements will never_ _leave."_

Peter turned to me, cupping my cheek, "(Y/n)? Hey, you okay? You're here with me, Blue. Come back."

Blindly I reached out for him. I felt his warmth, his hand against my face, but he wasn't there. I was with Thanos.

_"Why will they never leave Father?"_

_Thanos stood over me, the metal parts forever on my body forming in the air, "Because they were created from nothing by the components of the universe. The matter of the universe cannot be created nor destroyed. The same goes for this matter."_

_"It will be with me forever," I put the pieces together, "But you already placed the improvements around my head. You didn't use the gauntlet for those."_

_"They were... a preliminary trial. Something to introduce you to the concept. They are, perhaps, less permanent than the ones we're inserting now but that doesn't mean-"_

Peter's hand smacked my cheek. I jerked in response, legs giving out. Peter rushed forwards, catching me before I could hit the ground. My cheek stung, but it was a nice distraction from my mental qualms.

"Sorry, sorry," Peter whispered into my hair, "I didn't know what else to do. It was worse than the other ones. I love you. I'll never hit you again. I'm sorry."

Gripping his shirt tightly, I clung to him, shaking and on the verge of tears, "I need to make another appointment with the Professor."

"We'll do it as soon as we get back to the school today," Peter smoothed down my hair, "Then we can watch Star Wars, okay?"

"I just want him out of my head forever," I whispered, knowing the hope was futile. The Professor wasn't Jean. He was incredibly powerful, but Jean held - quite literal- otherworldly power. It appeared only she could fix me and she was gone with the snap.

"Hey lovebirds, we've gotta talk to you and Tony!"

Jumping, Peter and I swore in unison as Nat came up behind us. She had popped out of nowhere, Scott Lang and Steve stood on the porch of the house with Tony. But Scott Lang was supposed to have disappeared with the snap...

Following Nat, Peter and I listened intently as Scott explained his story to us and Tony. It seemed insane, but I wasn't supposed to be alive either so, who's to say his idea was too insane?

"Now, we know what it sounds like..."

"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve questioned.

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition. Can we agree on that?"

The three Avengers shared confused looks.

"In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I came back," Scott pointed out.

"No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?"

Scott shifted in embarrassment, "A time heist?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipedream?"

"The stones are in the past. We can go back and get them."

"We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back," Nat added.

Peter and I perked up at the idea. Bringing back all of our friends, Jess, the X-Men, the Avengers? They tried before and only got me, this was a second chance to fix everything.

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

Steve chuckled humorlessly, "I don't believe we would."

"Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise."

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?"

"No," Scott lied obviously.

I sighed, speaking up, "Logan traveled back in time years ago, to the seventies to save the world with the Professor. You remember that whole thing in DC with Magneto and Mystique? Kitty sent Logan back."

"So it's possible without the Quantum Realm?"

"Kitty disappeared in the snap, and she retired from the X-Men before that, anyway. The thing I'm trying to say is that it's not like the classic butterfly effect. It's new timelines, breakoffs. We go back in time and meet our past selves, it wouldn't completely alter the future we return to, only make a new timeline we can live in. There's still a timeline where the mutants are being killed, it's just not this one."

"Exactly, quantum physics doesn't work like the movies Scott. If we followed those rules, it'd be horse shit."

"Tony... we have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet, here we are. We got really lucky in the past," Tony motion to me, I shrunk under the attention, "And again with you, Scott. But that's all we'll get."

"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. Bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even-"

"That's right, Scott, I won't. Leave it. Got a kid." As if on cue, Morgan sprinted outside and into her dad's arms.

"Mommy told me to come and save you."

"Good job. I'm saved," Tony turned back to the others, "I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I missed you guys, it was... Oh, and the table's set for nine, it's a big table I promise."

"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance," Steve stated desperately.

Tony shifted Morgan onto his hip, "I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch. Come on kids, time for food."

Tony carried Morgan inside. Peter and I hesitated, almost sharing a mental conversation before we looked to a disappointed Nat, Steve, and Scott. They were counting on Tony to help them figure out how to travel through time, and he refused. Without him, Peter and I weren't very sure how well the plan would go, but we'd contribute in any way we could.

Having matured in the last 5 years, we understood what was at stake, and how our lives could change no matter the direction the plan went. That left a lot of room for free-thought. May and my parents couldn't 'control' us anymore (AKA, give us empty threats but allow us to continue hero work), not that they were great at it in the first place.

"We want our friends back," Peter stated determinedly.

I nodded at the statement, "Give us a time and place, and we'll be there to help. We can talk to the remaining X-Men too if you want me to, they'd be happy to help."

"They'd be a lot of help, we'll text you the details," Nat smiled gratefully.

"Wait... Who are the X-Men?" Scott questioned, face contorting in confusion, "Should I know about them?"

"Nope."

"Alright then..."

Steve put a hand on our shoulders, "It would be awesome if you could convince Tony somehow. He's scared, and not wrong. But we need him."

"And if we can't convince him?"

"We'll get another big brain."

Scott motioned to the house, "Bigger than this?"

I realized who they were talking about and let out a small 'oh'. Sharing a round of good lucks, the trio left to continue their mission. Peter and I went inside to join Tony, Pepper, and Morgan at the dinner table. Tony was tense, Pepper understood exactly what that conversation was about, and Morgan was in her own little world, oblivious.

"Everybody ready then? Let's eat."

~*~

After dinner, Peter and I were helping Tony out with the dishes while Pepper was trying to calm Morgan down to get her to bed. Tony flipped a wet towel over his shoulder and it splashed water onto one of the shelves, droplets hitting two picture frames.

Tony pulled them both out under the rouse he wanted to dry them off. I understood what he was doing; he was remembering the stories behind them. The first one was of Tony, me, and Peter. Peter holding his 'Stark Internship' certificate, and me holding my 'Wakanda Internship' certificate - courtesy of Shuri. It was a good day for us, happening soon after we got back from our summer in Wakanda.

The second picture was of our old squad. Peter, me, MJ, Harry, and Ned. We sent it to Tony the night after the Wakandan homecoming. I wasn't aware he printed it out and framed it.

"I miss them," I whispered to him, making sure Peter was unaware of our conversation, "He does too. We don't do friends anymore, only students and you guys. Could never get over losing them, y'know?"

Eyes shooting from me to the photos several times, Tony sighed and put them back on the shelf behind the other decorations. I held back a smirk. That got him. He was always a sucker for me and Peter; Peter basically being his kid before Morgan was born.

After we washed the dishes, we said goodbye to Pepper and stepped into Morgan's room. She was tucked tightly into the covers, still a bundle of energy.

"Goodnight bud, we'll visit you again soon," I kissed her forehead, Peter following.

"I love you three thousand," Morgan whispered, snuggling in as we closed the door.

We waved to Tony as we stepped into the car. With me driving, we pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the school. It was our home; it had been for four years. After a year recovering with the rest of the world from the snap, and trying to piece together the memories that were still floating around my head, we moved to Xavier's. May and my parents were upset about it, obviously, but the students needed more guidance. The X-Men were struggling, and we could help. The trade was easy to pick up. Peter taught science, and I taught Wakandan as a foreign language.

"Do you really think we can get all of them back?" Peter asked, voice nearly inaudible. I turned my head to face him directly, grabbing his hand.

"I honestly don't know. All we can do is hope. But I have you, and our students, and the Avengers and X-Men. If this fails, I'll move on knowing we tried."

Peter nodded slowly, sighing shakily.   
Turning back to the road, I gave his hand a squeeze. Our phones rang in unison with a text message from Steve, telling us to head to the compound the next morning.

"When we get back, I'll talk to the team about going with us. We can probably tell the older students to watch over the younger ones and give them a few days off."

Peter gave me an incredulous look, "What older ones?"

"Johnny, Amber, Chloe, and Liam, but definitely not Gretchen and Cohen."  
"Gretchen and Cohen."

We said the last two names in unison, know all too well that those two were five-year-olds stuck in sixteen-year-old bodies. Peter and I made it a big point to get to know our students well, understanding and having an obvious open door policy a big part of our teaching styles. Many of them needed that after the snap. People they could talk to. Friends and family who supported mutants were difficult to find before the snap.

After a thirty-minute drive, we pulled up the long driveway of the school, a few students till enjoying the last remnants of sunlight before curfew kicked in and they had to head inside for the night.

"How was the dinner thing?" One of them asked curiously. She was younger, nearing twelve with a morphing class quirk.

"Good, thanks for asking Annie. Make sure all of you get inside before curfew hits. You don't want Peter speeding by and messing up your hair," I warned good-naturedly.

"Or Storm making it rain in your room," Peter added in.

"We will," the four answered in unison.

Trusting their integrity, Peter and I stepped inside. Students dominated the sitting room and student kitchen, chatting and laughing loudly. The teachers were likely still in their offices, shutting down for the night and preparing for the next day. Peter and I were about to put a dapper in their plans.

"Woah!" Peter shot a web at an approaching projectile, sticking it to the nearest wall, "Grant..."

"Sorry, Mr. Parker!" Grant called out over the kitchen counter, sweating profusely, "Taylor thought it would be funny to feed me a ghost pepper!"

"Taylor you know what happens when Grant sweats," I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Taylor shrugged, "I wanted to see how far he could shoot his sweat when he got _really_ sweaty."

Chuckling, I clapped my hands several times, "Alright everyone, time to get ready for bed. Classes tomorrow. So be ready to get up bright and early. Amber, Liam, Johnny, and Chloe, you four stay back."

The small student body 'oooed' as they passed their called-out classmates. The four scowled at their insulters but shrunk when they approached Peter and I. We weren't the tallest people- Peter having only grown a few inches since he was seventeen- but that didn't make us any less intimidating.

"The teachers might be going on a... A bit of a trip for a day or two. You four will be in charge while we're gone. Handle things well and don't let Gretchen or Cohen taken over."

"Where are you going?" Chloe questioned curiously.

"Back in time," I chuckled, shrugging casually, "So you need to behave and be a good example, got it?"

"We're counting on you guys."

"We got it."

"Good, now go to your rooms."

The four scurried off, laughing and nudging each other on the way. Not only were they maturest and oldest group, but they were close friends. It made me smile, reminding me of our days with our missing three. But those days could return if we played our cards right.

_"Your thoughts are loud. We're waiting in the bunker."_

Automatically, Peter and I headed to the hidden elevator, taking it to the X-Men's bunker. We always cleaned down there, and sometimes went down if there was a dire mission that needed our attention, but without the full team, it wasn't the same.

"They're in a fuss, curious about what you have to say," Xavier met us at the elevator, rolling beside us, "Make it good. They're hopeful but skeptical. And rightfully so."

"Understood, thank you professor," Peter turned to me, smiling nervously, "We can do this."

Stepping through the doors, we faced the remaining team and staff; Kurt, Peter, Ororo, and obviously the professor. We found out soon after Peter and I moved to the school that Wade was alive, but he came and went as he pleased. We didn't try to control him. Too much stress.

"Is there really a way to bring everyone back?" Peter asked hopefully, zipping up to us.

"We think so. The Avengers have figured out a way to time travel without Kitty. The Quantum Realm. It's iffy, and a bit dangerous, but we have some of the best minds in the world working on it," I started.

"We'd go back in time and get the stones back, creating a new gauntlet and bringing everyone back."

"What makes them so sure this time will work? They tried once before and here we are," Scott crossed his arms.

"Nothing. But we'll all be damned if we don't try. This is our last chance."

The five shared looks revealing they were holding a mental conversation via the professor. Minus the telepathy, Peter and I shared our own looks. We needed the X-Men. Their numbers were small, but their combined power was great.

"We'll do it," the professor announced abruptly, "We owe it to the fallen to try."

Sighing in relief, Peter squeezed my hand tightly. It was easier than we expected, but everyone was more than willing to give anything to get everyone back.

"Report to the compound tomorrow morning," I informed them, "We already talked to the older group about handling the school."

Peter M (Maximoff, weird coincidence) nodded, pulling his goggles over his eyes, "Rad. See you all in the morning."

Speeding off, Kurt, Ororo, and Scott followed Peter M's departure. With a kiss, I told Peter to go ahead. I had to have another session with the professor.

"Thanos has haunted you for five years," the professor rolled toward me, "I shattered the glass, but we've been left with shards to pick up."

"Broken glass is dangerous," I wrapped my arms around myself.

Moving on without another word, the professor and I stepped into the elevator and took it up. Because of his wheels, the professor was in his office when I was halfway down the hall.

"Miss (L/n)?"

I turned to the caller. Mina, one of our youngest at age 7. Furrowing my brows I hurried to her. Blanket tight within her grasp, she looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Mina it's past curfew. Why're you up?"

Mina clutched my wrist with an unnatural strength with a 7-year-old. Wincing, I tried to jerk my hand back with minimal results. Her bright eyes were dreary. Looking up at me, she tilted her head.

"Ice pierces metal to end the beginning. Dust falls but blood drips. When the blood reaches the dirt control will come two-fold. It is the one in millions. The cost is never forgotten, but given once."

Mina finally let go and skipped off, up the stairs and to her hallway. I rubbed my wrist, frowning. Mina saw into the future, but it came out randomly and like riddled prophecies. My gut clenched. Why did she-

"I pulled out some wine to relax you. Everything alright?" The professor poked his head out of his office.

"Yeah. Everything's fine," I mumbled absently, staring at the vacant ground in front of me.

The professor hummed. He knew something was off, but he was too polite to pry. For once, I wished he would. I was plagued with questions, but I had to focus on our sessions.

Why did Mina seek me out? How far into the future was her sight? But most importantly-- What did it mean?


	5. But We're Heroes

The next morning, I focused on the mission at hand and nothing else. Because if I allowed my mind to wander, it would focus on the prophecy I was given the day before, and I wanted nothing more than to forget it.

Students chatting excitedly throughout the halls about their time off, the X-Men set the ground rules and explained the situation with a lot of information missing. After a quick breakfast to fuel up, the X-Men put on their suits, and Peter and I changed into comfortable clothes. Our suits had been 'lost' nearly two-and-a-half years ago, meaning we weren't obligated to put them on and be Spider-Man and Riptide. We could focus on other things.

Meeting just outside, the students waved us off. We grabbed onto each other, and Kurt bamph-ed us to the Avengers Compound.

"Oh my God!" Scott L (two Scotts=confusion over the coms) clutched his chest, leaping up from the bench he was previously sitting on, "Um, hello?"

"These are the X-Men," I motioned to the group, "We can do introductions with the whole team later. Where are the others?"

Scott sat back down, picking up a taco, "They're inside planning. The rest of the team is supposed to be here soon."

With that, our semi-large group walked inside. The compound hadn't changed a bit. And with the general layout being the same, we easily located the largest lab there, where Tony was talking to Steve and Bruce.

"I figured it out last night, the proper shape to create the machine that is," Tony informed the pair.

"And what made you want to join us after you said no?"

"Well, I have my conditions you know that. But, I was looking at that picture I have of the kids and-"

"We're here, Mr. Stark," Peter interrupted his speech, waving nervously as the attention shifted to us, "We brought the X-Men."

Bruce beamed, clapping his hands, "Amazing, we're gonna have all hands on deck for this."

"Peter, (Y/n)," Tony called.

"Yeah?"

"What's up Mr. Stark?"

Both Peter's responded at the same time. Tony blinked, then realized the name situation. "Okay, _my_ Peter, and (Y/n), follow me. I have something for you two. You're gonna like it."

With a dismissive wave of their hands, the X-Men stayed behind to talk to Steve and Bruce, leaving me and Peter with Tony. He led us all the way to the old suit storage room. Upon noticing our confused looks, he pressed a button and the door slid open.

"Mr. Stark, those aren't-"

"I found them when visiting the school a few years back. You 'lost' them, didn't you? Well, I adjusted their sizes to fit you now and added a few new features. What you had was so twenty-eighteen."

Deep in his heart, Tony was secretly a teenage girl. That could be the only explanation for his valley girl tone and hand motions. Two cases slid open, revealing our former supersuits. I stared at the lower mask on mine in distaste. The cage, the muzzle.

Peter simply touched his suit, and it shifted from its case to body. Simple and easy, lacking the need to change out of his clothes like he had to in his original suit. The two turned to me, waiting.

"Can I change the mask when it's on me?" I asked quietly. Tony 'ohd' in realization, "I know I had a full mask when I was with Thanos, but it feels like a muzzle when it's on the bottom."

Peter, mask shifting away from his face, took my hand. I smiled at him nervously.

"Tell Misty and it'll change for you. If we're ever in an area with a bad atmosphere, it'll have to change so you can breathe, but we'll take it one step at a time."

With that reassurance, I placed my hand against my suit. What was formerly tight fabric armored with kevlar became more metallic, like Tony and Peter's suits. The remaining fabric spread out from the nano-tech, giving me the familiar comfort. In the end, it was identical to my uniform from five years ago.

_"Lovely to see you again, (Y/n). It's been a while."_

"Hey Misty, can you shift my mask?"

At my command, my mask shifted from my mouth to my eyes. Sighing in relief, I turned to Tony and Peter- both were beaming proudly in their own ways.

We met the entire group back in the main room, minus Bruce, Rocket, Thor, and Nat. Nat was gone when we first arrived to recruit Clint. Bruce and Rocket had gone to recruit Thor right after the X-Men arrived. By Steve's calculations, the two different groups would be back in two hours or less if everything went according to plan.

"Let's pull ourselves together and get this machine made. The sooner the better," Tony announced.

~*~

"Mr. Thor let himself go," Peter whispered, making me nearly drop a hefty piece of equipment. Using my mutation would make it easier, but I didn't use it much casually anymore. It reminded me of how many people I hurt.

Sure enough, Thor waltzed through the room- clad in a hoodie and drinking beer.

"Drifting left. On the side there, Lebowski," Tony passed, patting Thor's shoulder, "How's it going, Ratchet?"

"It's Rocket," Rocket snapped from under the machine, "Take it easy. You're only a genius on Earth, pal."

Tony, unfazed, pointed out where Peter and I had to go, "Yep."

"Hey, laser eyes, shoot this for me," Rocket called out to Scott. Scott groaned in response, crawling under the machine, "If you break it we're all dead."

"I toured the entire compound and there's some weird stuff here," Peter M zoomed inside, next to Tony, "What's with the random landing pad in the yard?"

"It's for Thor, so he wouldn't destroy the grass every time he showed up."

Ororo dropped from the top of the machine, "We're good on top, let me know if you need more energy," she sparked some lightning on her fingertips.

"You got it, Stormy," Tony gave her a thumbs up, "Where the blue one?"

"Right here," Kurt appeared next to Tony, causing him to jump and clutch at his heart, "I was checking in with the other group. They're ready when we are to begin the test run."

Clint entered, wearing the quantum suit Scott L was supposed to wear, meaning he was doing the test run instead.

"Clint, now you're gonna feel a little discombobulated from the chronoshift," Bruce informed him as he stepped up.

"I'll be keeping track of your mind as long as I can to make sure there aren't... Well to make sure you don't go insane when you're shrunk down."

Xavier's words flew over Clint's head, "Don't worry about it."

Rhodey cut in, "Wait a second, let me ask you something. If we can do this, you know, go back in time, why don't we just find baby Thanos, and-"

"First of all, that's horrible."

Rhodey shrugged, "It's Thanos."

"And secondly, time doesn't work that way. Changing the past doesn't change the future."

The Professor raised his hand, "If I may. We had a situation where one of our members traveled to the past. If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former present becomes the past. It's highly complicated, but to simplify. It may not change our timeline, but we can branch off and create new timelines which we will live in. Which is what we're attempting to do."

"So because you guys went back, we're already in a new timeline?"

"Precisely. All of you are welcome. It's likely you'd be dead by this point."

"Time travel isn't like all those movies," I added, crossing my arms, "It's way more complicated."

"So... Back to the Future's a bunch of bullshit?" Scott got silence as his answer.

"Alright, Clint. We're going in 3... 2... 1!"

Clint's helmet popped up, and he was gone. Seconds later he reappeared, stumbling forward.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. You okay?" Nat held her comrade's shoulders.

Clint held up a baseball glove, obviously from his home, "Yeah, it worked. It worked."

The team let out joyous laughs. For the first time in five years, all of us could breathe again. The pain, the torture, the permanent reminders of Thanos on my stomach, forehead, and mind were worth it.

~*~

_"You're telling me that you can get everyone back?"_

"Maybe," I winced at my parents' loud tones, "This will be the best chance we have, ever. We're gonna go back and get the stones to bring everyone back now."

 _"Are you going to face Tha- Ow!"_ My dad yelped, a dull slap heard over the receiver- my mom's doing, " _Sorry, are you going to see him again?"_

Sighing, I crossed an arm over my middle, the fabric of my shirt rubbing against the metal on my stomach, "I hope not. I don't think the others would put me against him either. I'll probably have an Earth mission. Even then, we're gonna do everything we can to avoid a direct confrontation with him."

_"Good. We know you're still struggling, even if you don't want to talk about it. We don't want you to... relapse."_

Chuckling dryly, I nodded, "I won't. Wish us luck. Love you."

Ending the call with my parents, I stepped back into the meeting room. For the last hour and a half, we had been contemplating where we could go to get the stones most efficiently. They had been all over the universe, so pinpointing a good location was tricky.

"Okay, so the 'how' works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six infinity stones," Steve repeated for the third time, trying to get new ideas flowing. It wasn't working.

"Well, I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six infinity stones," Tony paused, looking up from his holo-screen, "Hang on, did the X-Men face someone with an infinity stone?"

"Apocalypse," Scott stated blandly, "He had the Mind Stone in the eighties, it was how he got his followers. We didn't know at the time. When he died, the stone sort of disappeared. Somehow it ended up in space."

"Jean brought it up there," the Profesor assumed a prayers position with his hands, "On accident. She absorbed it from Apocalypse. When we went into space, she absorbed the Phoenix Force and expelled the Mind Stone. Thanos found it soon after."

The room stared at the mutant group in shock. Finally, Nat spoke up, "You guys have had really weird missions."

"I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about," Scott L cut in.

"Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and only for the Avengers and or some X-Men depending on how we organize teams. And these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."

"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in."

"Which means we have to pick our targets," Steve continued.

"Correct."

"Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?"

Everyone turned to Thor. He was in a chair with sunglasses, making it impossible to tell if he was awake or asleep. Peter waved a hand in front of his face.

"I think Mr. Thor is asleep," he reported, nearly jumping onto the wall when Thor jerked up with a start.

"What's going on?" He questioned drowsily.

Tony rolled his eyes, "The Aether. What do you know Point Break?"

"Where to start? The Aether, first, is not a stone, someone called it a stone before. It's more of an angry sludge thing, so someone's gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story though, many years ago my grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves," he wiggled his fingers to imitate telling a scary story, "Wooooh, scary beings. So Jane, oh, there she is. That's Jane... She's an old flame of mine. She stuck her hand inside a rock this one time and then the Aether stuck itself inside her, and, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead, and oh you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen though you know, nothing lasts forever-"

Tony tried to push him back to his chair.

"I'm not done yet, the only thing permanent in life is impermanence." He finally sat down.

"Awesome, eggs, breakfast?"

"I'd like a Bloody Mary."

Everyone collectively sighed. Peter M stood, zoomed off, and returned with the alcohol. He zoomed off again, and seconds later returned with a classic diner breakfast, likely from an actual diner.

"Love him!" Tony pointed to Peter M, "What's your name again?"

"Peter Maximoff."

"Woah," Nat sat up, interested, "And you have super speed? You don't think-"

The glass door to the room slammed open, cracking. Wade, in all of his red and black leather glory, crossed his arms, "Hold it right there bitches. Don't continue that conversation. You have more important things to do."

"Who the hell are you?" Steve questioned, stepping into a defensive stance.

"Wait! That's just Wade," Ororo waved her hand dismissively, "He's fine. Really weird. He comes and goes."

Wade gasped dramatically, rushing over to Tony, "Robert? Robert oh my God, you're still here thank God. Listen something is going to happen that makes you even more of a meme but it's because you- Oh Peter!"

Wade skipped to Peter, pulling him up and into a hug, "Best friends forever! But guess what? You're twenty-two so I can say Spidey-Pool now! It's legal!"

Peter choked and gasped within Wade's grasp. I rushed over and pried his arms off of my boyfriend, punching his arm. Wade didn't flinch, but dropped Peter all the same. Turning back to the room, he noticed the obvious tension.

"Right. Enjoy your breakfast. Call me when you need me, cause you will. Oh! And Remember how important New York is. Bye!" With a songful goodbye, Wade used the door like a normal person and continued to wave until he was out of sight.

All was silent. Everyone stared at the cracked entrance door, shocked. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I was the one to bring everyone back to attention.

"Wade does that a lot, he just pops up whenever he wants. Ignore him. I don't know why he called you Robert, Tony. Anyway, we need to focus. And eat. Because I'm starving."

Everyone picked up a different box of food and enjoyed what was inside, chatting through different plan ideas while they were eating. Our brunch lasted another hour, with no further progress. When the food boxes were empty, and out stomachs full, Rocket hopped on the table and easily avoided the piles of trash so he could pace around.

"Quill said he stole the power stone from Morag," he stated.

"Is that a person?" Scott L questioned. I held back a laugh. He was so out of his depth with all of that big-time hero work.

"Morag's a planet. Quill was a person."

"A planet? Like in outer space?"

"Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything," Rocket walked over and pet Scott's hair gently, "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll take you to space."

Nebula, after rolling her eyes, stood to take the attention away from Rocket's mockery of Scott, "Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir."

"What is Vormir?" Nat paused in her note-taking.

"A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It's where Thanos murdered my sister. And where he solidified his resolve to find another daughter," Nebula snuck a glance towards me.

A large part of my recovery was thanks to Nebula explaining her own recovery process from Thanos' mental manipulation. She was my alienated sister for twenty-three days, but when I was rescued she became my sister by war. Trauma brings people together, and we were perhaps the only two people in the universe who understood what it meant to be a daughter of Thanos, however brief or long our time in the role was.

The room fell into an awkward silence. Nat grimaced, but wrote down the information all the same. Instinctively, I reached out for Peter. He grabbed my hand, hiding his own nerves beneath a bright smile. However fake it was, I needed it.

"Oh, we have an issue at the school," the Professor rolled out from behind the table, "A breakdown from one of the students. The four we left in charge are having trouble handing it. We need to head back for a brief while. Kurt?"

"Do we need to go too, Professor?" I rubbed my eyes, tired of staring at the same six pictures of the stones.

"You and Peter can stay here. We can handle it," with that, Kurt grabbed the four and teleported off.

Steve grunted, and stood, twisting his arms to stretch his back, "That's as good a time as any for a break. I need a shower."

"I do too," Scott stood as well.

Rocket jumped off the table and left at the announcement of a break. Nebula followed close behind. Taking on paternal roles, Peter and I gladly picked up the trash lying on the tables and traveled to throw them away in the garbage outside.

"You doing okay?" Peter placed a hand on each of my shoulders, rubbing them soothingly, "I know all of this must be hard. You thought you could move on. We both thought we'd never wear our uniforms again."

Wrapping my arms around his middle, I squeezed him tightly, closing my eyes and enjoying his presence, "Honestly? I'm not doing great. Constantly on the verge of a breakdown. But I'm working through it. Five years is a long time. I hurt people under Thanos' control, but I've made amends with that."

"You're so strong," Peter kissed my temple, then my cheek, then jaw, "I've always admired that about you. Having you here with me now, seeing you fight your inner demons... I want to be here for you through it."

"Thank you."

We spent the next few moments together in silence. Next to a dumpster. Not the most romantic spot, but considering that we were speaking about my mental health, it wasn't meant to be romantic. It was serious, and Peter's consideration lessened the strain on my mind.

"You ready to go in?"

Nodding silently, I stuck close to Peter's side as we walked back inside. There, Steve, Nebula, Rocket, and Scott L were still gone. Bruce, Tony, and Nat had shifted and were either laying on the table or on the floor.

"Hey," Nat greeted monotonously, turning her head to look at us, "We were thinking, that Wade guy said that New York was really important earlier, you got any idea what he meant?"

I shook my head. Peter, surprisingly, put the pieces together before I did.

"Doctor Strange lived in New York, right?"

Nat's eyes widened as she put the pieces together, "Guys if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York."

Bruce shot up in surprise, "Shut the front door!"

~*~

Another hour later, we had put a plan together. The X-Men had arrived back during that time, having dealt with the situation at the school. Per Steve's orders, the X-Men and I were to stay at the facility and both monitor the machines and be there as backup. There weren't enough Pym Particles for all of us, and I was more than willing to stay away from the Infinity Stones.

Soul and Power 2014. Reality in Asgard 2013. Space, Mind, and Time in New York City 2012.

After the Avengers changed into the Quantum suits, they began their dramatic walk to the time machine.

"All right. We have a plan. Six stones, four teams, one shot," Steve announced to the gathered group, "Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

Kissing Peter, I smiled shakily, "You're gonna be fine going with Bruce for the Time Stone?"

Peter nodded, smiling back, "I'll be fine. We'll do this and bring everyone back. I love you."

Holding onto his hand until he stepped onto the program, I sighed and stepped back, "I love you too."

Bruce set up the machine, the Professor and Ororo watching over his shoulder to learn the most basic works. Peter, Kurt, and Scott were watching the team, arms crossed and brows raised in interest.

Giving Peter one last smile, he pressed his watch and disappeared. A few seconds, a few minutes at most, and they'd be back. And everything would be fine.

I didn't even blink before Tony and Steve stumbled onto the platform, early. Sure, it should have taken only a few seconds, but not _less_ than a second. The two jumped up and shared the same panicked look.

"What happened?"

"Bad news, we lost the Mind Stone when a bunch of guards shot at us. _But_ we managed to get the Space Stone," Tony held up his briefcase, "Oh, and a bunch of those Pym Particles."

Peter M disappeared and returned with the particles in his hands, looking to the Professor with a smirk, "Well, if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself. What do you say, Professor? Wanna face Apocalypse again and get the Mind Stone?"

The Professor sighed, "It's the last thing I want to do."

Reaching out, I took one of the vials, rolling it in my hands, "I don't want to either. But we're heroes. So let's do it."


	6. Young and Old

"We've got thirty seconds before the rest of the team gets back. No time for messing around," Tony ushered us onto the platform. With our past practice, we took mere moments to change into the Quantum Realm suits. It helped that we could put them over our suits, "We left Scott- Lang, I know we have two- in New York so he'll come back with them too."

"Are you sure you want to go out there? Tony and I can try to go back to New York again," Steve offered, not bothering to hide his anxiety, "It was our mistake for not being able to grab the Mind Stone in the first place."

"Thank you for your concern Captain, but this is our fight now," Xavier spoke up, chuckling, "Not all of us may look capable, but we'll be back with the others."

Without hesitation, Steve nodded. The Professor was good at convincing people like that. All of us activated our helmets, and Kurt counted down.

"Three, two, one."

_Fwip._

We popped up earlier in the fight against Apocalypse than expected. Our estimated time was obviously off. Unlike the Battle of New York, no one was tracking when the X-Men arrived and dealt with Apocalypse. All we had was a date and approximate time-span.

All of that left us with Apocalypse, his former lackeys, and the professor. No X-Men yet. They were still at the facility after being captured by Ryker.

 _Hear me, inhabitants of this world,_ the X-Men simultaneously winced as the Professor's voice, young, rang through their heads, _This is a message. A message to every man, woman, and mutant. You have lost your way. But I have returned. The day of reckoning, it is here. All your buildings... all your buildings and temples will fall. The dawn of a new era will emerge. For there is nothing you can do to stop what is coming. This message is for one reason alone... Those with the greatest power. Protect those without. That's my message to the world._

"That was badass Professor," I whispered excitedly to the man, eyes straining to see the group in the distance- Thanos' modifications coming in handy and clearing up the large distance. At the moment, they were just outside the city.

I had heard the story of Apocalypse many times. From the X-Men, the news, and my parents. But I wasn't alive to experience any of what happened. Physically being near the man, and seeing the past event was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

"How long do we have to wait before the team arrives?" Ororo winced upon seeing her past, Apocalypse serving, self.

"An hour at most," Xavier offered unsurely.

"So we have an hour to deal with him?" Kurt questioned nervously, tail flicking, "That way we won't meet ourselves in the past and cause confusion."

"We barely beat him with a full team," Scott shook his head in disagreement, "We should wait until our past selves get here and distract his followers. After we rescue the professor, we tried to escape, and they went after us. That's our moment."

"Professor?"

Xavier nodded, "Scott is correct. The followers are not in their right mind, and we don't have the numbers to deal with them ourselves. All we can do now is wait."

~*~

After approximately an hour of consistently moving building to the building to avoid detection, and of anxious moments where the followers just barely missed seeing us, the X-Men landed at the sight. More than once we relied on Kurt to teleport us away.

"Alright, we need a plan. As soon as they take off we need to get in there and get the stone," Ororo looked to each of us, "Does anyone have a plan?" Silence. "We've been waiting for an hour and no one has _anything_?"

All of us jumped at the sound of fighting from outside. Based on the professor's calculations of how long he was on the table in the pyramid, we had around five minutes. Five minutes to make a plan. All of us regretted not taking the time to make one earlier. But in our defense, it was usually Jean or Logan giving the orders in the field.

"I'll assist myself in fighting Apocalypse mentally. Young me doesn't cut in until after the ship crashes, but that doesn't mean I can't begin as soon as the ship takes off," the professor offered, kickstarting our ideas.

"I got stuck under a building pretty soon after they left, but I switched sides after the crash, so I shouldn't be in the way of anything," Ororo stated, pointing out her young figure falling beneath a building.

"I can zoom in there as a distraction," Peter offered, "He might break my leg again, but I've figured out how to heal faster so we're good."

"I'll teleport around and distract him as well," Kurt nodded.

"We're forgetting the fact that it took the entire original team plus Magneto to defeat him," Scott hissed, "Even then it was very close."

Peeking out to see where we were at, I rebutted, "That was before we could control our mutations as well as we can now. You didn't even have me on the team back then. Everyone has matured. We can do this. And if we can't, fake it till you save the universe."

"What would we do without you? The baby of the group," Scott threw an arm around my shoulders, ruffling my hair as if we weren't in the middle of a battle for the universe.

"I'm twenty-one," I smacked his arm, tired of being the child when I could drink legally, "Now, focus. We have one shot at this. Peter and Kurt distract him with the professor, Ororo and I will face him head-on. Scott, you need to melt off his armor. Remember what Rocket said about the Power Stone? If it touched the ground, it would have killed everyone. This isn't the Power Stone, but we still have no idea what would happen if it hits the ground. So, don't let it drop, but _don't_ touch the stone. It will kill you."

_Whoom_

The X-Men's stolen ship flew above our heads, ruffling our hair. Just after the ship was Angel and Psylocke. Storm was dealt with until the final battle when she switched sides. It was our chance to get in there without messing up the timeline.

"Alright everyone, you know what you have to do. Go do it!"

Taking a strange sense of pride as the team dispersed, I ran out from our cover with Ororo just behind me. Apocalypse was ready for us, sending half a building our way. Ororo jumped up, and I dove underneath to avoid it.

"Up and down!" I made a circle motion with my pointer finger.

Ororo flew up and sent down her largest lightning strike, not dissimilar to Thor. Rearing back, I iced my water and shot it towards him, aiming for the joints of his chest plate- in the center, the Mind Stone rested, glowing blue as his eyes did. Peter and Kurt zoomed and bamphed around him, dodging hits and dealing them out when the villain was distracted by us women.

 _Shhhhoooop!_ The ship was going down just as it had in the past. Everything was happening faster than I imagined, but battle did that to you. It wasn't supposed to be slow going. Momentarily diverting my attention to the ship, I caught Young Kurt's blue smoke poofing out from the inside. Angel's metal wings shone in the sun. Angel would die, and we would lose a potential ally. It wouldn't change our future, but rather open an alternate timeline. So if I could-

"Scott, go now!"

Scott leaped up, removing his glasses entirely. Relieved of my duty, I sprinted across the ruins. Just inside the looming crash zone of the ship. I threw my hands forward, sending water through the cockpit window. With a quick tug, Angel flew out and his body slammed into mine. Groaning as my back hit a rogue stone, I didn't have time to wallow in pain. Scrambling to my feet, I pulled on Angel's wrist until he followed my lead away from the ship.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, jerking his hand away, "Are you with _them_?"

Glancing back at the X-Men fighting, I noted how close Scott was to getting that chest plate off. But something was wrong, the vibrations of all the other attacks had dented the metal. The stone was loose. We hadn't accounted for the armor strength as we should have.

"Why can nothing go right?" I hissed to myself, retrieving Angel's hand again, "I don't have a lot of time. But you have to believe me when I say that Apocalypse will only bring you pain. Humans suck, sure. But they _will_ change. Hate will never leave entirely, but joining the X-Men will change your life. They're good people. Good _mutants_ , who will understand you better than anyone else. They're fighting for _everyone_ , not selfishly for one race."

Angel fought against my hold no longer, mutely following after me as I sprinted back to the group. Upon seeing his former master his grip tightened, but he didn't fight against me. His heart before Apocalypse reached him was already resentful of humans, but without the stone's control to push over the edge, he had his free will back, and that meant opening his eyes.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I- for once in five years- felt the small need to thank Thanos for the modifications he did to my body. The heat of Cairo and the dust in the air didn't bother me as much as it should have. But at the thought of actually thanking Thanos, I had to swallow down bile.

"Peter, no!"

Seemingly forgetting my earlier instructions about avoiding touching the stone, Peter ran for it as it fell from the chest plate. Though he didn't have a choice. We had no idea what would happen if it hit organic matter, but if it was like the Power Stone, it'd be disastrous. Our plan was going to hell, all the while, the young X-Men were hiding out in the building just ahead of us, likely confused.

Peter screamed in pain as soon as his fingers came into contact with the stone. His body glowed bright blue, hopeless against Apocalypse as he approached. That was until Ororo touched down and grabbed Peter to move him out of the way. She yelled out as the pain was diverted to her. Peter's screams lessened. Putting two and two together, I reached out for Ororo, gripping her arm.

As soon as I touched her skin, and the power of the Mind Stone was given to me, my mind was thrown back to nearly three and a half years ago when I was speaking to Nebula on one of her rare visits to Earth.

_"I get flashbacks sometimes. Not only of what he did to me, those will never go away, but something else. There's something I'm missing. A fragment of a memory. The professor can't pull it out. Like he hid it."_

_"What do you know about the memory?"_

_"It was right after we landed at The Garden. In the grass... the wind was blowing in the trees. And Thanos was speaking to me. The words are all jumbled. But I can get Time Stone, war, and 'to bring you forth'."_

_"Father saw an oncoming war?"_

_"Maybe. But Doctor Strange saw millions of possible futures with the time stone, so he was probably just preparing for everyone. Still... I want to know what he said."_

The pain brought me back. It was excruciating- my body destroying itself from the inside out. At least when I got dusted it didn't hurt. Someone grabbed my wrist, Scott. Angel grabbed Scott's shoulder. Nothing like welcoming him to the team with a deadly share of power.

It still hurt, but not as much as before.

_Don't worry._

It was the professor, but his voice lacked his usual age. It held the same tone and maturity as the Young Professor giving his Apocalypse speech earlier. A quick inspection of the area told me that Young Scott, Kurt, Ororo- freshly a betrayer of her master, Hank, Peter, and Mystique had run out of their hideaway. From the sky came Magneto.

The scene was too good to be true. Too cheesy. Young allies coming out to help new allies without hesitation? Well, the professor probably explained the situation briefly. But their willingness to assist us was baffling.

_Your Charles explained everything. I simply passed along the message._

Hand joined hand until the X-Men- young and old- each held the same insurmountable power. Apocalypse had long been frozen in shock and fear. The timeline differed in his defeat, but he would be done for all the same.

"Where's Jean?" I grunted, eyes screening for the redhead. She wasn't in our line of heroes, or in the surrounding area.

"Right here," Jean stepped out of the top floor of the hideaway building, walking on air. Staring down Apocalypse, she threw out her arms, and the Phoenix was released.

"Everyone now!"

Full force, everyone threw everything they had into the final attack. Without the stone to regain his followers' minds, Apocalypse was helpless against us. No shield he could conjure, no words he could say would stop us from completing our goal.

Apocalypse fell to the ground in a pile of dust, ironic considering what the full force of the stones did in the future. Peter dropped the stone onto the empty chest plate, the armor holding it like a bowl.

"What the hell is going on?" Young Peter was the first to speak above the tired, panting, "You're us. But you look old. And Angel is on our side now? Hi, I guess. And who's the girl in the blue? You're cute."

"Thanks?" I grimaced at the compliment, sharing an uncomfortable look with Future Peter.

Old Xavier rolled out, up and over different pieces of rubble thanks to his advanced wheelchair, "I _would_ explain, but it would plunge this timeline into confusion. Logan travelling back to break off another timeline was risky enough. With that, I believe you all should _forget_ what happened here and _remember_ a different narrative."

Finger on his temple, the Professor removed everyone's memories, even Jean's, and replaced them with mostly accurate memories of what happened in our timeline, adding in Angel's switch. If either of the telepaths ever remembered, they'd be smart enough to forget again. For a split second, I almost stopped him in removing Jean's memories. If I could just ask her to help me, then Thanos could be out of my head for good.

"She's too unstable," the Professor sent me a warning glance, still in the process of handling everyone's memories, "This was the first time she used her power like that. Our Jean had matured much more, had better control. Don't risk it."

I didn't. I allowed the professor to finish the process. While they were still disoriented, we pressed our watches and arrived back at the compound. Even with the difficulties and divergent timeline, it was easy enough given the overall circumstances.

Peter was right across from me, the Time Stone in the Hulk's grasp. Of course it was so easy for _him_ to carry it when it took double our team to handle the Mind Stone. Rushing forward, I hugged Peter tightly, landing a long kiss on his cheek.

"Why are you on the platform, weren't you staying back?"

"It's a long story I'll tell later. But I'm not under Thanos' control again. The sessions are working, and I'm safe around the stones. That's what matters."

"Did we get them all?"

"You telling me this'll actually work?"

Pulling away from Peter, I counted our numbers, pausing. Steve and Tony were off the platform in front of us, Rocket and Thor, Rhodey and Nebula, Bruce and Peter, Scott, Clint and-

"Hey Clint, where's Nat?"


	7. They Will Resist

Although I would consider Nat a close friend, there was a lot I didn't know about her. She always made comments about my hair being dyed, and I did the same with her. She teased me and Peter when we were out together, and I made sure to visit when I could so she wouldn't always be alone.

"What are you doing?" Peter watched as I pulled water from the plants around the lake.

Keeping silent, I walked sideways, watching the proximity between my target and the compound. When I was the perfect distance between the lake and the building, I dropped the water into the ground. With increased moisture, it was easy to pull the wildflowers blooming into an intentional cluster.

"(Y/n)?"

"It's all I can do," my eyes burned with tears, and Peter hugged me from behind, "We don't have a body for a funeral and ice will melt so this is the only memorial-"

"Shh, it's okay," Peter rocked me gently, "You're doing the best she can. She gave up her life so we could bring everyone else back. When she released all of SHIELD's files, I read through some of them. She did a lot of bad stuff, but she redeemed herself. No one is beyond redemption."

Sniffling, I nodded slightly. Though his focus was on Nat, I understood that the redemption he mentioned was for me. Thanos made me do awful things but if Nat could redeem herself, then I could too.

"The others are talking about her. We should meet up with them," Peter led me to the lakeside where the others were mourning together.

"Do we know if she had any family?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. Us."

"What?" Thor snapped, "You're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right? So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

"We can't get her back."

"Wh- what?" Thor turned to me for help, "But Thanos brought you back with the stones. It's possible. You should be dead!"

Crossing my arms, I frowned deeply, "You don't have to remind me. I'm well aware of that, but this is different."

Thor laughed deeply, "I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive don't you think?"

"Look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she?" Clint cut in defending my thoughts.

Thanos could bring me back because I wasn't supposed to die in the first place, and he damaged his body doing so anyway. To bring someone back who traded their lives for the stone would mean losing the stone in the process.

"It can't... be undone. Or that's at least what the great floating guy had to say," Clint's voice rose steadily, "Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him."

Grief quickly replaced that anger. It seemed as though all of us were rapidly going through the five stages of grief. As heroes, taking the time to go through all of that was dangerous and could lead to death in battle.

"It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Bruce grabbed the nearest bench on the dock and hurled it across the lake, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to."

"We will. And that means putting that new gauntlet together."

"To do that, we need to be in the compound," Peter pointed out the obviously nervously, with no desire to get on the team's bad side. It was almost laughable how anxious he could still be around the Avengers when he'd known them for five years and was twenty-two.

The team collectively left the lakeside and wandered back to the compound. The 'branched off' Avengers were mourning separately and less severely. They knew Nat, but not like the originals. Peter and I couldn't even hold a candle to what they went through together.

"Are you gonna do it?" Rhodey came up beside us in the hallway.

"Yeah, we are. Can you get the others?" Steve requested.

Rhodey broke off again in a run to gather Rocket, Nebula, and the X-Men. They met us in one of the side labs. Tony already had a new gauntlet prepared and carefully plucked out each of the stones with pliers and placed them in the new gauntlet.

"Boom!" Rocket announced excitedly. Everyone in the room jumped at the joke.

"Actually, if we don't want everything to blow up, we should head to a fortified room," Tony led us across the hall to a separate lab which was, apparently, more fortified.

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket questioned, crossing his arms.

"I'll do it," Thor offered.

"Excuse me?"

"It's okay."

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait, a sec. Hey, hey-" everyone rushed to stop him from grabbing the gauntlet.

"Wait, wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity? Us sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

"It's not that-"

"It's- stop it! Just let me," Thor's voice became thick with emotion, "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something great."

"Look, it's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition."

"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"A high alcohol content?" Peter suggested.

"Lightning," Thor corrected, the insult going over his head.

"Thor, if I may," the professor rolled forward, "The issue here is not necessarily your body, but your mind. The stones need to be handled by someone with no hesitations or doubts about anything they're doing. While you're in your current... state, it would destroy you."

Rhodey snapped his fingers in realization, "What about that one guy who came here earlier? Doesn't he have super healing or something? I don't know if he's necessarily mentally stable, but-"

"Wade doesn't show up when you need him to," Ororo shook her head, sighing in annoyance.

"We tried calling him while you guys were outside. No answer," Scott shrugged.

"If I knew where he was, I would be able to get him, but I can't," Kurt added.

"In other words, Wade is out. It's probably a good thing," Peter concluded, "Logan would be a good option. But he uh, well he was dusted so..."

Bruce held up his hands in a motion for us to stop, "Guys, it's gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"What tells us you will?" I crossed my arms, "Thanos was gravely injured after."

"We don't know if I'll live. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like I was made for this."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Nebula slinking out of the room. Brows furrowing, I nearly called out to her, but before I could Bruce was putting on the gauntlet. Humming in confusion, Peter noticed.

"You good?"

"Yeah. Just excited for this," I dismissed it. She'd probably be back in a second for the Reverse-Snap.

"You remember; everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years," Tony all but pleaded, desperate to keep his second chance.

"Got it."

Peter's metal legs emerged from his suit, and he pulled me close to him and wrapped the legs around us. Tony activated a shield and tossed a small device to the X-Men. A wider shield popped out of it for them, considering they didn't have defensive mutations. Rhodey's armor closed over his face, Scott's mask closed, Thor held up his arm to protect Rocket, and Clint ducked behind Tony's shield, and Steve held up his own shield.

"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Protocol 8," Tony requested. On cue, thick sheets of metal slid over the doors and windows, including above us.

Cheering himself on, Bruce muttered, "Everybody comes home."

Sliding on the gauntlet, he immediately grunted in pain as the power overcame him. Considering how many X-Men it took to handle the Mind Stone- although we weren't testing where the stopping point really was, we were being safe- I couldn't imagine what all the stones were like.

"Take it off. Take it off!" Thor yelled in panic.

"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" Steve held out his hand to stop Thor from jumping forward.

"Talk to me, Banner."

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Bruce panted.

Screaming as the pain came back with a vengeance, Bruce lifted his arm enough to snap his fingers. Light flashed through the room, but nothing shield worthy. Bruce's eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground. The gauntlet slipped off his arm and Clint kicked it away.

"Bruce!" Steve ran to his friend's aid.

"Don't move him," Tony ordered.

One of Bruce's arms was severely burned. I doubted the damage would ever heal completely. But we had yet to see if his Reverse-Snap really worked. If everything we had gone through, if the suffering and pain we trudged through, if Nat's life, was worth it.

"Did it work?" Bruce asked weakly, gripping Steve's arms.

The professor gasped, clutching the arms of his wheelchair. We all turned to him, worried something terrible had happened, "I feel them. All of them. Congratulations Doctor Banner, you brought them back."

"We can't forget what it took to get here," Peter brought up Nat's sacrifice. The room fell into a moment of silence and respect for her until Clint's phone rang. Immediately, his eyes teared up, and he left to answer it.

It was then that I realized that Nebula never returned. Not even after the compound went to lockdown, or when the snap was complete.

"Professor? Can you read Nebula's mind?" I asked nervously. Something was off. I knew her. She was my Sister by War. She wouldn't miss the Reverse-Snap.

Finger on his temple, the professor breathed out slowly. His eyes widened, and he yelled- "Kurt, Peter, get us out now! Everyone get over he-"

_Boom!_

Missile after missile struck the compound. I didn't have time to see where the X-Men ended up, but the flash of silver and blue smoke let me know that they were okay. They did their best to warn us and had to evacuate when it was too late.

Peter's legs managed to wrap around me and push us both away from the initial blast until Peter could shoot out a web when the floor collapsed.

"Shit," we breathed out in unison, just above raging waters from the sewer system. It was good ammo, not good for the others depending on where they ended up.

"Is everyone okay?" I yelled into the com, getting scattered responses, mainly panicked.

"I'm going to try to get us over there," Peter pointed out solid ground at least fifty feet away from us, "Without a ceiling, it might be kinda hard."

"Wait, I got it," lifting my hands, the roaring waters below picked us up and carried us to the singed grass and debris just outside the collapsed compound, "You forget that water is my element, Bug-Boy."

 _"Mayday, mayday! Does anybody copy? We're in the_ bshhhh _level, it's_ bshhh _!"_ Rhodey yelled, cutting in and out.

"Karen, what's going on with the coms?" Peter questioned, head turning every which way as he searched for signs of life, "Damaged? Is it just us?"

 _"What?"_ It was Scott Lang.

 _"We're_ bshhhh _! Does_ bshhh _copy? Mayday!"_

The X-Men approached behind us, each one has panicked as the next.

"I'm so sorry, there wasn't enough time to reach you before the missiles hit," Kurt apologized profusely, head bowed in shame.

"I wasn't fast enough either. I grabbed Ororo and booked it."

"We're alive, we're relatively unharmed. It's okay," Peter assured them, "We have bigger problems. The team is all split up and we have- oh, how did I not notice that before?"

Peter pointed and brought attention to the giant ship in the sky. Fear struck me deep down in my gut and made me nauseous. Swallowing bile, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the obstruction.

"It's the Sanctuary. But Thanos had it destroyed for good after the snap. Which means-"

"It's from the past," Peter gasped, "They must have figured out what we were doing and traveled here."

"But how would they have-" Ororo was cut off by the professor.

"When I reached out for Nebula's mind, I was shocked to find it was split into two. The past, and the future. Something happened on their mission, and the two timelines collided, resulting in past Nebula coming back here and bringing in past Thanos and his armies."

That made me even sicker. Thanos was alive? Alive and kicking. And if he understood what was happening via Nebula's memories, then he saw all of our discussions about what happened. He didn't know me, but he _knew_ me. Heard my darkest thoughts about what I did in the past.

"What do we do now?" Scott S adjusted his glasses and looked around, "We're alone."

"Not necessarily. Kurt, I need you to take me to the school," without hesitation Kurt grabbed hold of the professor and bamph-ed off, leaving us in the dark about his plans.

"That didn't explain anything," Scott deadpanned.

_"My sensors are picking up on Four life forms beyond those large chunks of debris. The Captain, Tony, Thor, and Thanos. Would you like me to enact enhanced hearing?"_

Turning to the others, I held a finger to my mouth and motioned for them to follow me, "Yeah."

_"You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."_

Hearing his voice sent another round of nausea through me. This was enough to make me bend over and hold my stomach. Peter (my Peter) was immediately by my side, rubbing my back.

"You don't have to do this," he whispered reassuringly, "We can wait this out and see what happens."

Shaking my head, I steeled my nerves. I could do it. I had to. What kind of hero would I be if I couldn't face a villain, no matter what they did to me? Breathing slowly until the sickness was gone, I straightened back up and gave the X-Men a reassuring smile.

Finishing our walk, we were right behind the rubble, hiding and watching the exchange between the Avengers trio and the Mad Titan from the past.

"Yep. We're all kinds of stubborn." We were close enough to hear their voices.

"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do," Thanos stood, and put on his helmet, "I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood," Steve growled.

"They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them."

The trio let out synced battle cries and charged. Taking that as our cue, I waved my hand in a 'forward' motion. The X-Men moved out from their hiding spots and joined the fight. Peter M zooming around and getting hits in while staying safe, Ororo releasing her biggest blasts, Scott shifting his glasses to full blast, Peter webbing whatever he could to slow him down, and me, rapidly freezing water and throwing it at him.

With the eight of us against Thanos, I should have had more confidence in our abilities, and for a split second, I thought we could end the carnage before it could start until Thanos figured out Peter M's pattern and kicked him across the battlefield. From there, he ducked under Scott's beams and punched him near Peter M, swatted Ororo from the sky, wrapped his wrist around Peter's web and swung him as far away as possible. Turning to me, his eyes flashed with recognition, practically swimming with everything he knew about me. He lunged at me with his sword, and I had to lower my guard and fall to the ground to avoid being hit, sprinting away when he continued.

"Thor hit me!" Thor charged Tony's blasters and Tony let loose, distracting Thanos from me.

Thanos diverted Tony's blast and picked him up, using him as a shield against Thor. When his use was served, Thanos threw him away towards the ground. Steve attempted to charge and was hit to the ground as well. Thor slid under an attack. Meeting Thanos' double sword with Stormbreaker, both of them lost their weapons. Thanos threw Thor to the ground, punched him, and took his own weapon from the air.

"Come on, come one," I pushed myself up on weak arms, looking for any signs of consciousness from the others, "Misty, send out something to Karen so she can wake Peter up."

_"She's already been attempting to. It's slow going."_

As Stormbreaker cut through Thor's armor, Mjolnir lifted from the ground. My jaw fell as it flew through the air. It hit Thanos, then turned and landed in Steve's hand. Everything inside of me was screaming in fangirl. The internet had been speculating for years if Steve could wield Mjolnir, and I just witnessed the answer.

"I knew it!" Thor yelled victoriously, getting kicked to the ground after.

 _"I'm up, I'm good. Oh, everything hurts,"_ Peter's voice rang through my com, I sighed in relief, _"Sucks that I got my butt kicked twice."_

"Peter I need you to try to wake up the other X-Men. I got Tony."

_"Got it!"_

I ran to Tony's motionless suit, knocking on the helmet several times. No answer. I hit harder, his head falling limply to the side. At least Misty could assure me he was alive, just slow to consciousness.

"Tony, come on! We need you!"

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter... It was never personal. But I'll tell you now; what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much."

Thanos' entire army was summoned to the ground. Including the long-dead Children of Thanos- I hated to include myself in that category- the Chitauri, and the Outriders. I looked across the field to Peter, who was already looking at me while helping Peter M to his feet. Neither of us were hopeful, but that didn't mean we were ready to stop fighting.

"Misty, if I don't make it. Tell my parents I love them."

_Don't lose hope just yet, (Y/n)._

It wasn't the professor. It was- holy shit it was Jean! Spinning around; I laughed as yellow portals opened up behind us. But that wasn't the only mode of transportation. Kurt popped up with the _entire_ team on his arm- minus the professor who wouldn't be great in the looming fight.

But it wasn't just the X-Men. Everyone we lost to the snap, Wakandans, sorcerers, I saw Shuri next to Okoye and T'Challa, Wanda, the Guardians, Asgardians. Anyone and everyone was there for the fight. Even Pepper, clad in Tony's anniversary present.

Ant-Man, or rather, Giant-Man, emerged from the rubble with Bruce, Rhodey, and Rocket. Kurt popped up next to me and held onto me and Tony, teleporting us to the front lines. Then, he disappeared and reappeared with Peter and the undusted X-Men.

"This is amazing," Peter clutched my arm, voice full of the excitement I couldn't see on his face, "Oh! Superhero poses. Go (Y/n)!"

Peter fell into a natural pose with the other heroes. Rolling my eyes, I obeyed all the same and opened my water stores, stretching my hands out so the water was held between them.

"Avengers!" Steve summoned Mjolnir, " _Assemble_."

"Woohoo! That was awesome!"

And there was Wade in an Avengers t-shirt.


	8. Come to Pass

I had never fully understood the saying 'to the death' before the final battle. It seemed like an exaggeration, because one of the sides would win and it would be a one sided death. But this time, with both sides being so determined and powerful, it was anyone's game and we were all aware of it.

_"Would you like me to activate Instant Kill Mode?"_

"Oh my God, I have one of those?" I swiped down against an Outrider, turning to Peter excitedly, "Peter I have an instant kill mode!"

"Good for you!" Peter encouraged, narrowly avoiding a kill shot.

"Yes, Misty, activate it!" Without warning, what looked to be daggers shot out of my suit cuffs, but they didn't make the normal metallic _shing_. "What the hell are these?"

_"Would you like a demonstration?"_

"Now isn't the best time but I don't see why not."

_"Hold your hand out to an enemy."_

An approaching Chitauri soldier was the perfect opportunity. I held my right hand out towards them, waiting for something to happen. Nothing, and the enemy continued to get closer.

"Uh, Misty-"

_"Focus and feel it Miss. (Y/n), there's water running up stores in your sleeve."_

Sure enough, I could sense the water running down my arm. Biting my lip, I aimed and just meant to shoot a blast of water at the enemy to disorientate them before I continued the battle. What I wasn't expecting was for the water to concentrate into a blast similar to ice, but much sharper and concentrated. The soldier fell to the ground after receiving a headshot, motionless.

"Woah," I marvelled, looking down at the new equipment again.

_"Tony called them 'water guns' and found it quite funny. While you still aim and control the water, they go through the concentrators beforehand and are formed into sharp blasts. To the enemy, it's like millions of needles attacking them at once."_

"Let's do this," I smirked, turning to another soldier and letting loose.

With my new equipment, along with my past experience, it was easy to forget that I constantly hesitated while using my mutations because of the dark deeds I used it to accomplish in the past. It was nice, and I realized how much I missed being Riptide. I wasn't whole without my hero side.

Looking back to see how Peter was doing, it surprised me to see Tony land right in front of him, helmet moving away from his face. Smiling slightly, I shifted closer to them to both listen in on and protect their moment.

"Mr. Stark! I'm so glad you're okay. I didn't see you anywhere. But isn't it crazy how all those people got dusty and now they're back-"

Tony cut Peter off with a hug. At first, Peter was confused, but he didn't fight against it. That made me smile even more. Tony must have been so stressed about Peter in the battle. No matter how old he grew, Peter was his son, and he'd worry about him through everything.

"This is nice."

Giving him a thumbs up from over Tony's shoulder, I blew a kiss and ran off. Cute.

Running deeper into the folds of the battle meant more animalistic fighting. A mixing pot of allies and enemies mixing together in a giant mess. I fought my way through using my new equipment, ice shards, and head freezing tactics ー I felt no guilt killing Thanos' soldiers. At points, I would team up with whoever was closest to me. Dora Milaje, X-Men, Wong- but we all continued on without hellos or goodbyes. The reunions could wait.

 _"T'Challa has the gauntlet right now. Whatever you do, get it to the van and keep it away from Thanos,"_ Steve announced to everyone over the coms.

"Misty, where's T'Challa right now?"

_"Tracking... located."_

Over my lenses, a green tracking square pinned down T'Challa as he sprinted across the battlefield. Following Steve's orders, I ran to catch up with him, even if it felt like a lost cause due to his immense speed.

Halfway to the other side of the battlefield, missiles rained down from the Sanctuary. Thanos must have been desperate if he was willing to destroy his own troops. Ducking under the nearest sorcerer's shield, I assisted them before moving on when things were momentarily clear in our area, and repeated the process.

As Ebony Maw used his telekinesis to trap T'Challa, Peter took it upon himself to move ahead of me, swing over the tower of rubble trapping T'Challa, and take the gauntlet.

"I got it! Activate Instant Kill!"

Peter's lenses turned red and his legs rapidly stabbed the Outriders as they swarmed him. After ducking under yet another shield, the missiles stopped. I looked to the sky for answers, grinning when I saw they diverted their fire to the sky. There was only one person powerful enough to draw the attention away from everyone else.

And that queen was Carol freaking Danvers™.

"I got this. I got this! Okay, I don't got this."

"Shit, Peter!"

Remembering why I was even working my way across the field, I rushed over to help Peter out, killing Outrider after Outrider on top of him. They didn't even turn away; they were too focused on getting the gauntlet.

"Hey, Queens. Heads up." Steve chucked Mjolnir towards us. Peter webbed the handle and was pulled out of the mass of Outrider bodies.

"Give me a lift, Bug-Boy!"

On command, Peter webbed my hand and pulled me along with him. As if he'd ever be able to get rid of me in the first place. I couldn't wait to tell Ned and MJ we literally rode along with Mjolnir.

"I got you kids," Valkyrie grabbed Peter's hand and threw him up onto her Pegasus, in turn hoisting me up as well.

"We're riding a Pegasus. This is so co- woah!" Peter yelled out in shock when the Pegasus suddenly dipped in the air.

Because the flying horse dipped, it was more susceptible to attack. And that became apparent when a missile blast landed a little too close to us and threw us off. I rolled away from Peter, groaning in pain as my muscles screamed in protest as I got up.

"Bug-Boy?" I called out, easily finding him clutching the gauntlet tightly to his chest.

Queen Carol freaking Danvers™ dropped down in front of Peter, smirking and raising a brow. Peter, who likely had a concussion, seemed to forget that he'd known Carol for five years, "Hey. I'm Peter Parker."

Groaning, I face palmed. Carol's smirk widened in response, "Hey Peter Parker. You got something for me?"

Peter willingly held out the gauntlet. Moving next to Carol as backup, it was hard not to notice every heroine coming together around us as well.

"I don't know how you're gonna get through all that," Peter muttered weakly.

"Don't worry."

"She's got help."

"This is like a club. I like it," Jubilee beamed, spark forming on her fingertips.

"They got this," Peter leaned back tiredly.

"Watch and learn Bug-Boy."

In a moment of pure woman-powered strength I would never forget, all of us charged on the enemy to distract them from Carol. Carol flew ahead of all of us, leaving us in the dust while she delivered the gauntlet. Not that it offended us, we were happy watching each other's backs while she saved the universe.

But Thanos wasn't ready to give up. He threw his double-edged sword at our last chance to bring the stones back and destroyed it. The force from the blast threw Captain Marvel back and knocked the gauntlet from her grasp, right to Thanos' feet. Carol jumped forward and pushed him back, gaining the upper hand despite his newly gauntleted arm. Thanos pulled out the Power Stone andー

"Carol look out!"

But my warning came too late. Thanos punched Carol with the stone in grasp, blasting her far from the battle. He then put it back. I knew it was a suicide mission, but that didn't stop me from rushing forward when no one else was.

Thanos, the man who knew of me only from Nebula's memories, did nothing to stop my attacksー nor did he snap despite the opportunity. He smiled. I was never free; it was a farce. He'd never let me go.

And I understood my fragmented memory. The one that resurfaced during our fight against Apocalypse. As the stones on his fist glowed, the memory became whole, and I wished I'd never tried to glue the pieces together in the first place. Because he shattered my five years of hard work in seconds.

_"I used the Time Stone to look forward. There will be a war. And I'll use the stones to bring you forth again. If all goes well, we will win."_

Blinking, I looked to my father for guidance. The battle was intense, and the Avengers were unwavering in their misguided ideals. Luckily, Father had allowed me to go to Earth for the first time. But it was worse than I imagined. And that boy in red and blue was nowhere in sight.

Grinning victoriously, Father ordered, "Protect me, daughter."

So when Iron Man tackled Father and was soon thrown away, I sprang into action. He had been a thorn in my father's side for years. And I had the chance to snip him off of the rose.

"I am... inevitable."

Freezing all the water I had, I took little notice of the upgraded equipment near my wrists. Father must have done that. Shaking my head, I took aim and thrust my hands forward.

**_"Ice pierces metal."_ **

"And I... am... Iron Man."

**_"To end the beginning."_ **

My ice hit its mark, aimed for a joint at the center of his back where his suit would be weak.

Father sat and watched the surrounding army fall. Looking to me, he smiled one last time, and turned to dust. Realization washed over me. Tony Stark had his moment because, despite my efforts, he got the stones and snapped. Screaming in devastation, I fell to my knees. Keeping my eyes on Stark, I took pleasure in watching blood mix with melted ice on his back. He would die for what he did. From the wounds I created, or the stones.

**_"Dust falls but blood drips."_ **

Iron Man looked over his shoulder and met my eyes. So weak and frail, yet he lit up the Mind Stone once again, "(Y/n). I- forgive-"

His blood dripped onto the dirt, mixing with the dust of Thanos' army, and I understood the depth of what I had done.

**_"When the blood reaches the dirt, control will come twofold."_ **

Hand over my mouth, I sobbed. What had I done? Mina's prophecyー it all made sense. It was coming to pass and as always, there was nothing we could do to stop it. And it happened because my mind was weak, because I allowed Thanos to take control of me again. Rocking back onto my haunches, I barely registered Steve behind me. Would he arrest me? I hoped so.

"You've had Thanos in your head for five years. Not only that but he changed you physically. No one blames you for this. This wasn't your fault, and it wasn't you that killed him."

He could say it a million times and I wouldn't believe it.

Rhodey landed just in front of Tony. Then came Peter. Peter, who saw Tony as a father. Peter, who already watched Uncle Ben die. Peter, the love of my life who glanced at me with such anguish.

"Mr. Stark? Hey- Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter. We won. Mr. Stark... We won, Mr. Stark. We won and you did it, sir. You did it."

**_"It is the one in millions."_ **

"I'm sorry, Tony," Peter stepped back as soon as Pepper landed.

"Morgan," I whispered, sobbing again. Everything Tony did was for his family. He died for them, for all of us.

"Hey," Pepper cupped Tony's cheek.

"Hey Pep," Tony muttered what would become his last words.

"Friday?" Whatever report Friday gave wasn't good, "Tony, look at me. We're gonna be okay."

_"His suit began to repair the wound when he snapped. He went critical after. It wasn't you that killed him."_

My AI's words fell on deaf ears.

"You can rest now."

Tony's arc reactor went dark. Dead.

**_"The cost is given once but never forgotten."_ **

The prophecy had come to pass.

~*~

The entire world rejoiced the return of those who were dusted. Many were five years older than their peers, but that didn't seem to matter. Peter met with Ned and MJ at some point, I was well aware of that, but I didn't. I couldn't even bring myself to leave my parent's apartment. Not even Peter's and my room at the school, because I couldn't chance him being able to come in.

So I reverted to my old room, familiar and comfortable in every way that I desperately needed. And I didn't leave. Not when my parents knocked on the door, not when Jess threatened to break it down, or when Harry ranted about school, or the time Ned talked about how lego sets were so cheap since he got back, not when MJ read a book to me, and definitely not when Peter cried outside because it was all too much for the both of us.

When my parents had to leave due to work, I would sneak out and use the bathroom, maybe shower if I could bring myself to do it, and eat some food. But I always went right back in.

That pattern continued for two weeks until Kurt teleported into my room and scared the crap out of me, making me uncurl myself from my ball-like position so I could push him out.

"I don't want you here Kurt. Please, just get out-"

Kurt grabbed my hands, stopping me from pushing him further, "Tony Stark's funeral is in two hours. His family already spread his ashes but they want to do a memorial service with his closest friends and the teams he fought with."

"No, no, no. Kurt I can't go to that," I tried to jerk my hands out of his grip, "I can't face Pepper and Morgan. Not after what I did. I killed him Kurt-"

"The snap killed him, (Y/n)."

" _I_ let Thanos take control of me again and I _stabbed_ him. How can everyone say I didn't have a hand in his death?"

"No one blames you for what happened (Y/n)."

"They should."

With a sigh, Kurt disappeared again. Curling back into a ball on my bed, I prepared myself for another round of tears thanks to Kurt popping up and bringing everything to the forefront of my mind again. Yet again, I was interrupted by Kurt. But he had a visitor.

"Pepper."

"I'll be waiting outside," Kurt stepped out of my room and left us alone.

Pepper sat on the edge of my bed, keeping her distance but staying close enough to make me feel like I wasn't alone. She was good.

"I know... what happened has been hard on you. It's been hard on all of us. He was my husband, after all, but this isn't going to help anyone. Tony's- he's gone. And whether or not you had a hand in it changes nothing. But (Y/n), you need to let yourself _keep going_."

"How can you say these things to me? How can you act like I'm something more than Thanos' daughter?"

Pepper reached out and grabbed my hand, "I'm not acting, (Y/n). I suck at it. I'm saying these things because they're true. I know you're stuck with the body enhancements Thanos gave you, and they'll never go away, but you aren't his daughter. Clara and Lucas? They're your parents. Your _parents_. And they love you as much as the rest of us do.

"All of this monologing is leading to one thing. We stood by you the first time you were recovering, we'll do the same now. I forgive you. _We_ forgive you. Friday told me that even Tony forgave you. It'll be a long road, but you need to forgive yourself."

Pepper ended her speech with a hug. It was obvious to me why she was such a good CEO of Stark Industries. Gripping the back of her shirt, I cried onto her shoulder. Upon my shoulder feeling damp, I realized she was crying too.

Forgiveness wasn't easily given, but I received it. I couldn't forgive myself so quickly, but while sobbing with Pepperー I knew it was possible.

"Is all forgiven? Am I allowed to enter?" Kurt knocked on the door gently.

Pepper and I separated and laughed through our tears, allowing Kurt to enter. He stepped inside with a cookie in his mouth, having helped himself to my mom's last temptation to get me out.

"Good. How are you feeling, (Y/n)?"

"Not great, but better I guess."

"Good, good. Jean is ready to treat you whenever you are. Would you like to change and have me teleport both you and Mrs. Stark to their home?"

"No, I'll drive up there with my parents when they get home. I owe them a conversation, and an explanation. I'll see you two soon, though."

Kurt grabbed Pepper's arm, and they bamphed off. Breathing in deeply, and out slowly, I pulled myself together for the time being. I knew I'd lose it again at the funeral, but I had to be able to get ready at the very least.

Digging through my closet I pulled out the nicest black outfit I had, taking off my old clothes to replace them with the new ones. While I was debating on whether doing my hair or makeup was worth it or not, I heard the front door open. My parents were home together. There was a hushed whispering until they stopped in front of my door.

"(Y/n)? It's Tony's funeral today, and Pepper said there's a message he left and he wants you and Peter to see it with the rest of his family, which means you should be there early," my mom started.

"We honestly don't know how hard this has been on you, but we want to try. We want you to talk to us, and the first step could be you leaving and going to the-"

Not being able to take it anymore, I opened the door. My dad nearly jumped out of his skin, and my moms slapped my dad's arm so hard that his skin would have separated from his bones, anyway.

"Ow, shit Clara, I see her too!"

"Sorry, honey. (Y/n). Hey, how- how are you doing? Wait, no. I don't want to trigger anything for you. Um, just uh, just say what you want and we'll be here to support you."

Dad nodded enthusiastically, "Right, and if you need anything. Water, food, if you want to stop somewhere on the way to the Stark house then we can-"

"Guys, it's okay," I reassured them, "Well, it's not really okay but you know I mean. But Pepper came to talk to me. And, you know, everyone else too but Pepper was Tony's wife, so it means more. Everyone has forgiven me, and I may not get why now, but that doesn't mean I never will."

My parents pulled me into a group hug, squeezing the life out of me. I wheezed, and they let up slightly. Both of them were talking over each other, trying to reassure me. Being exposed to so much so quickly was overwhelming.

"Can you just go get ready, please?" I stepped away from them, realizing that it sounded snappy, "Sorry. It's just a lot. I love you guys too, but an hour ago I never wanted to leave my room or talk to another human again."

"We don't want to overload you. We'll leave in twenty."

Nodding, I retreated into my room to wait until they were ready. Within those ten minutes I turned on my phone for the first time and was overwhelmed with texts. From the X-Men, Avengers, MJ, Ned, Harry, and Peter. Even Liz telling me she returned in the blip.

It was just as much to handle as my parents seconds before so I set my phone down and decided I'd deal with it the next day, or the next week. Whenever I was feeling up to it, really.

Ten minutes later my parents and I were prepped and on the road to the Stark house. It was twenty minutes away from the compound so around an hour away in total. It was an hour to prepare myself for another round of guilt and a bunch of "It wasn't you's". Maybe it wasn't me but it didn't change the fact that he was dead.

"We think you should see a therapist," my dad started thirty minutes into the drive.

"A therapist?" I wasn't closed off to the idea, "They'd have to know I was a hero then, wouldn't they?"

"We've spoken to Pepper. Tony started going to a therapist closer to the end, it was how he got better. She recommended him to us. He's safe, and was under a lot of contracts to keep Tony's secrecy, he'd follow those same guidelines for you."

"We won't force you into it. But we'd think it'd be a good way to re immerse yourself into society and to recover from what's happened."

"What's his name?"

"Shawn Vidal."

"... I'll think about it."

And I did. For the next thirty minutes until we parked in the Stark's driveway. It was more of a pondering than anything, considering I had my answer as soon as they brought the question up. Smiling at the small playhouse peeking out from the woods, I nodded once.

"I'll do therapy. You're right, I need professional help."

"We're glad. We'll set up an appointment. Now, let's mourn our first official hero, yeah?"


	9. Take Us Back

"Hey, guys. Good to see you here," May greeted my parents with friendly hugs.

As soon as I laid eyes on Peter, I was gone. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck, clinging to him like he was my lifeline.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated at least seven times before he cut me off. I wasn't entirely sure what I was apologizing for, anyway. Mentally, I decided I was apologizing for everything all at once.

"It was Thanos, and the snap. We're gonna get Thanos out of your head after this. We'll be okay." Peter managed a smile, and I knew we would be.

"(Y/n), how are you doing?" May hugged me tightly.

Shrugging, I sighed, "I'm alive, and I've processed most of what happened so that's good. Still kind of weird that I'm older than all my friends."

"Let's head in," Mom suggested.

My dad knocked on the door. Happy answered and exchanged greetings before leading us to the living room where everyone else was already waiting. I hugged Morgan and Pepper tightly.

"You're so strong Morgan. You're my hero for that," I told her quietly, turning to Pepper, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"I'm glad you came," Pepper gave me another hug. Peter knelt down in front of Morgan.

"Hey, this week we're gonna go out and get ice cream together. Alright? Because I love you 3000."

Morgan smiled, "I love you 3000, too, Peter."

We created a half circle around Tony's Iron Man helmet. Tony's last message to everyone besides his will. Pepper silently cued it up.

_"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised. But come on, you know? That epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up in. What Peter and (Y/n) might raise a family in."_

Peter's hand grabbed mine. I squeezed it tightly. Tony thought about what future Peter and I would have together, about having 'grandkids' to teach and watch grow. But that chance had been stripped from him, and I felt it'd been stolen from me and Peter as well. If we had kids, they'd never know Tony the way they should.

_"So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. Not that, death in any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's... it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. But then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. Uh, what am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to. I love you 3,000."_

Sniffling, I wiped my eyes. The first tears of many during the service. It was a short message, but there was more to the early meeting. Happy cleared his throat and produced a holo-pad from his pocket. It was Tony's will, and while the timing seemed a bit off, I could understand that the sooner we finished the formalities, the sooner everyone could mourn and move on.

"I'll uh, I'll skip past most of the formalities. Tony left nearly everything to Pepper and Morgan. However, he's lined up ten thousand randomly assigned scholarships for students, 'Something nice' for Rhodey, 'A house or two worth' to Harley, 'A nice sum' for me, and 'Whatever it takes to make them happy' for Peter and (Y/n)."

"We don't need the money," Peter and I spoke in unison. Pepper smiled through her tears.

"You're good kids, but don't say that when you've got your lives in front of you. I'll make an account."

"Everyone else is here, we should head out," Rhodey peeked out the window.

We filed out of the house, leaving Pepper by herself so she could get her final memorial and have a few moments of peace. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes, and the mere thought caused me to grip Peter's hand even tighter.

Minutes later, Pepper stepped outside carrying a wreath. Keeping her composure, she walked to the lake and set the wreath in the water, allowing it to float away. Everyone was there. And by everyone, I mean everyone. Every team, duo, solo hero, and important figure from Tony's past was there. Even the Harley I'd heard stories about.

Hurrying to Morgan, Happy led Pepper away. That meant we were allowed to mingle and give our condolences to each other after an extended moment of silence. Avengers already surrounded Pepper, and we'd already had our heart-to-heart so I didn't feel the need to bother her with the condolences she'd heard all day.

"How are you doing?" I asked Nebula, greeting her with a small hug. It was a milestone for both of us, being able to hug each other and be comfortable with it.

"Fine. Stark was a good man, but he died doing what was right, and he saved us all because of it."

"Yeah," I sighed at the reminder.

"I wish you could have met Gamora. You two would like each other."

"I'm sure I will someday. We can never stay away from each other for long," out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shuri, "Stay in contact, Nebula. It's nice having someone who understands as well as you do."

"Of course."

Rushing over, I greeted Shuri with a Wakandan Salute and a tight hug. I hadn't had the chance to talk to her at all. Everything after the final battle had been recovery and mourning.

"You need to visit Wakanda soon. I have so many ideas, and I'll need your help to do them," Shuri smiled, looking me over, "This is weird. You're in your twenties and I'm the young one again."

"Don't look at me like I'm a Grandma," I chuckled, "Don't worry. I'll be continuing my internship no matter what. I've missed your constant upgrades, and your ocean projects."

"Come with me," Peter grabbed my hand unexpectedly, pulling me across the yard without warning.

"Wha- Peter, where are we going?"

He stopped in front of Doctor Strange. Wong, whom he'd been talking to, dismissed himself when we approached.

"Doctor Strange, before they bring the stones back we have a request."

"Bug-Boy, what are you-"

"MJ, Ned, and I talked about it when we met up. Doctor Strange, can you use the Time Stone to make me and (Y/n) young again?"

Doctor Strange's and my jaws fell open in shock. That was the last thing I thought he'd request. But... it made sense. Post-snap, though we lived for 5 years our friends didn't, we didn't live.

"You understand the ramifications? To change someone's age back would be to mess with the time laws themselves."

"No offense sir, but we literally time traveled to save the universe."

I saw my chance, and went with the flow, "That and both of us technically should have died in the snap. You'd be fixing things more than hurt them."

Doctor Strange considered our offer carefully and finally concluded "Alright."

"Yes! Kurt, can you bring us to the school, please?"

Kurt, who was nearby, easily teleported us to the front-gates, then was gone againー back to the funeral.

"Mr. Parker, Miss. (L/n)," the students outside greeted us joyfully.

We waved before stepping inside. There, we took the hidden elevator to the bunker. From which we took a right into the room we kept miscellaneous items, well protected items. The stones were there temporarily.

"I'll ask you one last time," Strange opened the briefcase, "Do you wish to give up the last five years you've aged?"

"Yes," we answered in unison.

A chance to pick up where our lives paused? We'd be stupid not to take it. Especially when, apparently, all of our friends were encouraging us to do it.

Strange's hand hovered over the green Time Stone. It lifted out of the briefcase and rested in front of us. Unconsciously I tensed, and Peter grabbed my hand to reassure me. Strange moved his hand in a counterclockwise motion. Nothing felt different at first. Until my clothes were too big, and my body ached something fierce.

"I suggest you talk to Jean Grey about making your mind's match your bodies. Otherwise you might discover some conflicts while returning to your past lives."

"Thank you so much, Doctor Strange."

"Of course, kids. Stay in touch. Or don't. We'll meet again anyway," Strange returned the stone to the case, opened a portal, and left.

"It's weird, seeing us young again when we were in our twenties," Peter's eyes wandered over my face, "The enhancements Thanos gave you are gone."

My heart jump to my throat. I ran a hand over my forehead, and sure enough to cool metal strip was gone. Boundaries dissipated long before that day, I pulled my shirt up to my bra.

"No..."

The lines were still there, dull colors shifting behind them. Brows furrowed, Peter created a noise of confusion instead of voicing it openly.

"Thanos created these with the Infinity Stones. He said... he said that the only thing that could remove them is what put them there."

"All six Infinity Stones," Peter realized, "But we can't do that, so-"

"I'm stuck with them."

Pulling me into his arms, Peter took action before I could fall into them. Sobbing into his dress shirt, I gripped the sides of his blazer. I hadn't been so emotionally drained since the early days of my first Thanos recovery. Peter likely felt the same way, since we came from his mentor/father figure's funeral.

We're back, heading to the bunker now

I waved my hand to clear my face of any signs of crying per the professors mental warning. Seconds later, the X-Men stepped out of the elevator, their footsteps echoing until they all entered the storage room.

"Damn, it's like nothing's changed," Logan commented upon noticing our young appearances.

The Snap, then the Blip did a lot to him. And he was old, older than I cared to admit. But after being surrounded by death and sadness for so long, I was okay with where his path was leading and how it would end. Same with the professor. It was only a matter of time.

"You guys deserve a do over," Jubilee smiled.

"No kidding," Rogue chuckled.

Jean stepped forward, "(Y/n), I'm sure you're more than ready to have Thanos gone for good. It'll get a bit messy so the training room would be the best spot to do it."

"Right. I'll be back in a sec, Bug-Boy." Hugging Peter for a moment of comfort, I hurried across the hall with Jean. The door shut with a click behind us, sturdy and strong against whatever would happen.

"You can stand in the middle there. Now, I'll release the Phoenix and get rid of any control Thanos may have. I can alter the memories too."

"To what? Nothing can take his alterations away."

"Perhaps. But you don't need to remember the pain he made you go through."

"Would it really get rid of it though?" Jean remained silent, "Keep them there. I've handled them for five years. I'll be okay."

Nodding, Jean placed two fingers on either side of my temple, "I'm going to release the Phoenix. The pain will be excruciating, but we're picking up those shards and throwing them away for good."

"Go ahead."

Jean threw her head back, and for a split second, I saw the brilliance of her power. So bright and beautifulー

_I would never forget the garden. Some of the worst moments of my life happened there. Yet, feeling the wind against my skin and observing foreign flowers bob under the force, filled me with peace._

_"Peace. Interesting that you could find it here."_

_I looked up at Thanos. Every fiber of my being wanted to scream and hit him, but the wind blew again, and I realized. standing in that field; we were one, and the sameー lost._

_"You ruined my life on this planet... sometimes when you were in the fields, I'd walk to this meadow and ask myself why you sent me on missions when you claimed you were at peace."_

_"What answer did you come to?"_

_"You spent your life fighting. When you couldn't anymore, you were lost. You used me as your guide."_

_Thanos chuckled, deeply and contentedly, "Perhaps I was lost. But I wasn't using you to save myself."_

_Before our conversation continue my skin crawled. Uncomfortable, I winced. That skin crawling sensation turned into burning. Crying out, I fell to my knees. The world literally spun around me, my stomach twisting along with it._

_The Garden shifted into my bedroom, New York, the compound, Xavier's, Wakanda. Every significant location in my life was presented until finally, it all stopped. Everything around me turned grey. From that drab nothingness came the voices._

_"What kind of mutant can't control their own mutation?"_

_"I call it bloodbending."_

_"I need your help in Germany."_

_"I love you 3000."_

_"I forgive you."_

_"An eye for an eye situation."_

_"I love you (Y/n)."_

_"You were a daughter of Thanos for a month, yet you bear proof of his inability to handle imperfection. He is the bringer of war, and we are daughters of it. Sisters."_

_"We're nervous about you being a hero, but we love you. We know your strength, your goals for mutant rights. Make us proud."_

_"Remember (Y/n), mutant and proud."_

_Each voice overlapped each other, fighting to be heard. It was too much. My head was splitting to keep up. Clutching my temples, I screamed. I screamed until my vocal cords threatened to tear. Lacking the strength to tell myself I was in my own head, I cried._

_Without warning, a conversation rose above my cries, and above the other voices._

_"When will I stop going on missions, Father?"_

_"That is your choice. What would you do after?"_

_"Help you of course. Or search for who I am."_

_"Perhaps your memories require new adjustments. The day you return to Earth and discover yourself is the day I lose you completely."_

_He lost. I was free._

Jean and I stumbled away from each other. My focus zeroed in on the bucket in front of me that wasn't there before. Someone must have brought itー collapsing over it, I retched, expelling what little food I had ingested that day.

"I did it," Jean pulled my hair away from my face, "His hold is gone for good."

Gulping down a glass of water next to the bucket, I sighed in relief. I was free. Not of the trauma that came with the experience, or the lines on my stomach that would grow with me, but of the fear. The fear of being Thanos' Daughter instead of Clara and Lucas (L/n)'s Daughter.

"Thank you Jean," I was careful to direct my breath away from Jean, lest she want to smell vomit as I hugged her.

"Anything for you (Y/n), you know that. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to help you those five years."

"You were dusted. I don't hold it against you."

A knock sounded from the door, "Hi, it's Peter. Is (Y/n) good?"

Jean and I exchanged chuckles, "You can come in."

The X door slid open, Peter greeting us happily. His eyes held the question his mouth didn't work to ask.

"He's gone. Jean did it."

Sprinting forward, Peter pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank god. It's not like it took five years or anything."

"Is there a reason you stayed down here?"

'Yeah, I wanted to talk to Miss. Phoenix. Miss. Grey?"

"Jean," Jean corrected.

"If Miss. Jean," Jean shook her head with a small chuckle, "Could remove all that wisdom and maturity that comes with being in your twenties."

"What do you mean, Bug-Boy?"

"You know. Wisdom comes with age and all that. Doctor Strange was right, our heads should match our bodies. If we're gonna be young again, we should be young."

"If our friends jumped off a bridge, we should want to jump with them," I concluded.

"Huh. You guys are really going all in. Alright then. This one won't be as painful."

Jean placed a hand on each of our heads. Just as she said, all that came with her adjustments was a slight discomfort. When she pulled away, I didn't feel much different.

"You'll see the difference, eventually. Trust me."

Turning to Peter, I shrugged with a smile, "Guess we're what? Sixteen, seventeen again?"

"Weird, isn't it?"

Looking down at myself, I shrugged again, "I feel better in this body than my older one. Probably because of everything that happened."

Half true, half a lie. The body I was most comfortable in was the one from 2018, unmarred by Thanos' sick desire to improve me. I had my insecurities back then, but at least I didn't have interstellar body modifications I could never remove. But, something was better than nothing.

The three of us left the bunker and went up to the school. The team was in Xavier's office, waiting.

"Look at you!" Peter M. zoomed up to us, "You're so little."

I smacked his hand away before he could ruffle my hair, "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't still beat the shit out of you."

Peter held his hands up in surrender and backed away. Stepping forward, Kurt placed a hand on our shoulders.

"We'll explain things to the students. For now, go be with your friends and families."

"I love you all. Thank you."

With that, Kurt brought us back to my apartment.

"I can stay here, thanks."

Kurt left. Peter and I shared a look and fell into each other's arms.

"Today's been very emotional." Chuckling, I held him even tighter, "I don't blame you for what happened to him. You've probably heard that a lot, but it's true."

"Thanks, Bug-Boy."

"I love you , Blue."

"I love you too."

Looking up, Peter's and my lips inched closer, and closer, until-

"Hey (Y/n), because today has been so hard, we were wondering if you wanted to order takeout- What-"

My dad's eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground. Mom, too shocked by our new - or old, depending on how you looked at it - bodies, paid him no mind.

"I'm hallucinating," she whispered, hand on her forehead, "There's no way this is happening."

"It's happening," doing jazz hands, Peter rushed to my father's side, "We sort of lost five years to the snap. We technically never finished high school either. So, we asked Doctor Strange and Jean to help us out to get them back."

"-the _fuck_ is going on?" My dad regained consciousness with a vengeance, "Oh my god it wasn't a fever dream. Our daughter is a teenager again."

"And you didn't think about consulting your parents?"

Peter jumped to my defense, "I pulled her into it. And it was an impulsive decision."

"We can see that. That means we'll have to stop looking at wedding venues for now," my dad jumped to his feet.

"What?"

"You two were basically engaged. We aren't getting any younger, but you have. That being said, we wouldn't be against you two getting married a bit young since you've been together for so long-"

"Dad!"

"Sorry, I get excited. Peter, May is waiting for you at your apartment. Don't give her a heart attack. She still tells the story about how she found out you two were heroes."

"Right. See you at school, (Y/n). That's weird to say. Love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as Peter left, my parents were on top of me.

"You're going to tell us everything after we order our food. Got it?"

"Yep."

My parents separated and hurried off. I shook my head with a smile. Just like old times.


	10. Red Leather Book

Despite school starting up again the next Monday - after the world dedicated the summer to piecing everything back together - the squad insisted I meet up with them before then for our big reunion. Peter was busy helping Aunt May, which meant less awkward tension between him and Harry. The world nearly ended and Harry was still determined to hate Peter.

"Sup, New Girl. Looks like you can't drink anymore," MJ's greeting was a classic MJ - slightly detached but altogether sweet.

Hugging her tightly, I chuckled, "Not like I would, anyway. Alcohol doesn't lead to good places. Also, since when am I 'New Girl' again?"

"Since you lived five years without us and have basically become a new person."

I hummed and moved on to Ned, "Hey!"

"Did you and Peter get engaged?" He asked, quick-fire.

"No. We were a little young for that still. Too late now." Ned was always our biggest shipper. I remembered the time he tricked me and Peter into a date fondly.

"But you stayed together for like, what, seven years?"

"Sure, Ned," Ned stepped into my apartment and I could finally talk to Harry, "God, hi, I missed you."

"I missed you too. But you suck for ghosting us for a month."

"Sorry, Har. It's been hard, and then there were the recovery efforts. It's been a lot to handle. But I'm better now! Now come on, I've got Netflix and food. We can catch up."

All of us settled in the living room, and I cued up an episode of Friend - timeless- so we'd have background noise. All of them squirmed, eager to ask their prepared questioned. Before they came over, in the groupchat, I told them they could ask whatever questions they had as long as they swore to keep me and Peter not disappearing a secret.

With a little help from some contacts, it was like Peter and I disappeared in the Blip like everyone else, which would have explained why we hadn't aged. The only people who knew were the people we trusted most.

"What hasn't Peter told you?" It was the easiest way to figure out where I had to start.

"Most of the 'Thanos' Daughter' stuff- which you don't have to tell us either. We're just curious. He said it wasn't his place to tell, it's yours."

"What happened early after the snap, and right after the Blip."

"Details about your sex lives."

"MJ!" If we had pearls, we'd be clutching them. Out of the three, I'd expect Ned to ask such a scandalous question.

"You were like, twenty-two, and we're all friends who won't tell anyone. Right?"

"Yeah..."

"Right. Um, the first one I guess. Remember that time I passed out during exam week? Long story short, my soul went to space, and I met Thanos. He remembered me during our battles and brought me back to life after I saved Peter- you know about that, right?" Everyone nodded, "Good. So, he brought me back and erased my memories. And for around a month I stayed like that. He changed me."

I lifted my shirt. The trio gasped. Quickly, I tugged my shirt down, harsher than I needed to. I expected their reaction, but it didn't mean I'd get used to it.

"I used to have one on my head, but it disappeared when I aged back. During those days I killed- I killed people for him, and blood bent without restraint. It was bad. Then the Avengers saved me and yeah, we can move on to the next question now," I didn't want to say any more, or go into further detail.

"For about a year and a half after I was rescued, I was really messed up. The professor and I had sessions to get him out of my head, but it was slow going. So I drank a lot. Peter finally sat me down and we talked through everything. Which uh, which leads to the last question," my face got hot, "Before that heart to heart it was highschool stuff. Then that conversation shifted things and... yeah. It was normal most of the time, with some uh, difference here or there. I hate you MJ."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm surprised you actually answered."

Harry spoke up, "We still love you, and you're still a hero in our eyes. Riptide isn't Thanos' Daughter. You're Riptide, and by default you're a hero which means you can't get out of it."

Ned took it upon himself to initiate a group hug. I missed them. Sure, our internal conflicts were a bit more intense. But not a day went by when I didn't think about how much I missed them and their weirdness. My memories with them blurred eventually, but they were crystal clear in front of me again.

Squeezing them tighter, I cherished the moment, "I missed you guys."

~*~

After my friends left, Jess wandered up to the apartment. It was weird that she could do that, being building manager and not the main secretary.

I made snacks, and went over everything I already had when my other friends were over. When I was finished, Jess hummed, sat back, and nodded slowly. I waited patiently for her to say something.

"So, you're technically as old as me, then?" Was what she finally got out. I nodded in response. It was a technicality that Peter and I were in our twenties because we had adjusted both our bodies and our minds, but it was still true. "How would you feel if I got married before you?"

"... What?"

That was not what I expected to hear. At all. Jess, single, lesbian, secretary. Only one of those three was still true.

"You remember Via? The girl I went to college with. We've both graduated, and we have steady jobs since the Blip recovery, and well... I love her, and I want to marry her. Dying for five years sort of put things into perspective in a cliche way. So uh, I bought a ring, and yeah."

"Oh my God, Jess that's amazing!" I finally processed her words and pulled her into a hug, "I'm so happy for you! I still need to meet Via, though."

"Well, as a bridesmaid I figured you would have to," Jess' smirk grew as she casually threw in another bomb statement.

Hugging her even tighter, I laughed in disbelief, "You suck for telling me all this the way you are, but I can't say no."

"Good. I don't have a ton of friends," Jess laughed with me, "Thanks, Short-Stack, this is gonna be great, I promise."

~*~

The next morning was my first therapy sessions with Shawn Vidal. Tony Stark's former therapist.

Cold and rainy. The weather reflected my mood perfectly as my parents walked me up the steps of the blue house. I found it strange that the sessions would be at his house until my parents explained it helped with privacy. I'd gladly deal with Vidal if he tried anything, anyway, so I quickly got over my worries.

"Two hours. No pressure to keep seeing him if things don't work out. We know it can take a while to find a good therapist, or realize that a therapist isn't what you need."

"Got it."

My parents walked back to the car, and with a final wave, they were gone. I knocked on the door, and seconds later a smartly dressed man opened in. Doctor Shawn Vidal.

"Welcome (Y/n), come in, come in."

"Thank you, Doctor Vidal."

"Doctor Vidal is for my older clients. Call me Shawn, or Mister Shawn, whatever you're most comfortable with."

His house was nice. Modern and warm toned with tan walls and brown furniture. Past the living room was another sitting room with two comfy chairs and a coffee table in between. That was the session room. A piece of artwork here and there, lacking a desk which was likely somewhere else in the house. Smart, making it seem even more casual and less business-only.

"I have water and cookies, but let me know if you have any preferences for any future sessions."

"Sure will."

Taking a seat, Shawn picked up a small notepad. Our session had begun.

"Tell me about yourself, (Y/n)."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything you think is important. Don't feel the need to spill your soul right away. I understand how nerve-wracking it can be. Especially because I know such a large secret." He was referring to Riptide.

Nodding, I listed off some more simple things, "For around ten years, I've acted as a hero called Riptide. Although for five of those years I took a step back because it didn't feel right to call myself a hero. I have good parents, good friends, and a good boyfriend."

"Steady relationships with all of them?"

"Yes. We have our issues at times, but who doesn't? My mental health has been here and there in the past. Being a hero is hard, you know? But things really changed after The Snap."

Shawn rapidly took notes down, "Can you explain how?"

"I died, then came back against my will. Thanos erased my memories, permanently modified my body, and for twenty-two days, I did his dirty work. Nebula and Gamora were raised by him, and maybe that made things easier. But I wouldn't be able to survive that."

"I'll save discussion of Thanos for a later day. For now, tell me about your childhood."

"My parents were the rare pair who didn't care about my mutation. The rest of my family wasn't so nice. So when the professor offered me a place at his school, they said yes. There, I was shy and didn't really have friends. When I was thirteen I was brought into the X-Men."

"A bit young to become a hero, don't you think?"

"I was strong-willed. A good student. I was good with my mutation. I handled it well. Until the uh, the incident."

"Incident?"

"The human body is largely made up of water, whether it's in the stomach, intestines, or blood. I control the water. I control them..."

The remaining hour and a half was dare I sat pleasant. Shawn was good at his job, and didn't force anything out of me I didn't want to say.

When my parents picked me up, we made another appointment for the next week.

"He was good, then?" My mom asked on the car ride home.

"Very. I can see why Stark like him. You guys were right. I think therapy will help a lot, and I'm glad I can be completely open with him about hero work and stuff."

"We made him sign his life away to protect you."

My parents seemed to sigh in relief after my confirmation that I'd continue to go to therapy because I thought it would help. Truth be told, I still felt like crap, but I didn't feel like shit. Shawn presented things in a way that made me rethink my mentality.

Mental problems couldn't be solved in one session, and the highs and lows were inevitable, but I was on the right path.

_How did the session go?_

Peter sent the text five minutes into our drive and my heart filled with warmth. He must have watched the time to know when to text me.

_Good! I'm going to another session next week_

_I'm really happy you're getting help. All I want is for you to be healthy and happy_

There was that domestic warmth again. I knew Peter was struggling with Tony's death- he lost two vital father figures- and it was something I'd have to talk through with him, but he was supporting me even still.

_I love you Bug Boy_

_I love you too Blue_

**Harry**

Harry wasn't sure what to think about the "Blip" as the news called it. It happened, he knew that. Bernard- the immortal being he was- took care of things until poof Harry was back in his room again.

(Y/n) and Peter lived, for better or worse. They beat the odds stacked against them and stayed together. For five years they grew together and further developed their bond through semi-shared trauma.

It made Harry heartache and his gut twist unpleasantly with a hatred that had festered and spread.

"You still love her," his father leaned casually against his desk.

The Blip complicated many things, Harry's mental state included. It was cracking before, but now it had shattered. He couldn't go a day without seeing things he logically knew weren't there. It was a Psychosis Disorder, whether it was Schizophrenia or another disorder on the Psychosis spectrum, Harry hadn't gone in to find out. He was, however, quite sure that his father suffered from similar delusions towards the end, so it was hereditary whatever it was.

The devil wasn't in the backseat, but the devil was in the backseat. And Harry was scared he'd allow him to take the wheel, and his soul during the drive.

"What's it matter?" Harry grumbled bitterly, tossing a rubber ball to the wall across from him, "She broke up with me for him almost seven years ago. I lost her and told her I was okay with her dating Peter."

"Poor boy," his father tutted with a shake of his head, "You said you'd avenge my murder. Peter killed me, continues to steal your loved ones, and you're letting him?"

Huffing frustratedly, Harry sent his late-father a glare, "And what am I supposed to do about it? I can't win against him. Not even when he's weak with grief."

" _You_ don't have to do anything. In my old office, there's a red book in one of the drawers. Tony Stark was a competitor in many things, and I kept track of people who hated him as much as me. You'll find allies there."

When Harry was young, he came across the notebook while snooping around. Inside was names and descriptions to go with them. That's how Norman knew, and could remind Harry.

Perking up at the memory, Harry dropped his rubber ball and rushed out of his room. He had gone into his father's study twice since he died. Once to sort through his things, the other to mourn over the father he could have had.

"Second drawer," he whispered, pulling it open and digging through the files until he found what he was looking for."

A red, leather bound journal. Flipping it open, Harry scanned through the profiles, marking possible candidates that would stand a chance against Peter, and vi vatum, against (Y/n).

"Quentin Beck. Fired after Tony Stark stated he was mentally unstable. Extremely intelligent with technology. Good leader."

"That's the one," Norman concluded what Harry was already thinking, "Call him first, give him some of the other contacts and you're set."

Harry did just as his father ordered and dialed the number below the name. He breathed a sigh of relief when Quentin Beck answered.

_"Hello?"_

"Quentin Beck, this is Harrison Osborn, owner of Oscorp," that was another thing. Harry had officially been given his father's 50% of the company, "I believe we have a common enemy in Tony Stark. People want Spider-Man to step up to the challenge. I'd like to support you in stopping him."

_"... What would you need me to do?"_

Harry hummed in thought, "Make it seem like there's a hero more suited to the job. By whatever means necessary."


	11. The Brides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lesbian wedding!!!

School was... boring. Uneventful, and anti-climatic. Even though the Snap happened halfway through the year, they made us start the year all over again. Which was fine with me and Peter. We'd forgotten nearly everything we had learned in the five years after the Blip so the refresher was nice.

It was nine months of much-needed healing and adjustment to teenage life again. While crime was up slightly at first, it quickly went back down to a normal percentage since things had settled down and the world had begun working again. That meant that Spider-Man and Riptide weren't needed very often, and our patrols died down to once or twice a week.

May had started an organization that assisted other people in relocating if the Blip displaced them, and for obvious reasons, Spider-Man and Riptide became the mascots for said organizations.

Therapy was nice. I felt better than I had in a while, and we were working our way up to the worst trauma I had. But no amount of therapy would ever wipe away the smallest cracks left in my mental health. Seeing Morgan and Pepper for our bi-weekly dinners hurt, even when I covered it with a smile. Seeing so many memorials to Tony hurt even more. It was hard, but I was making it work. I knew things were hard for Peter too, but they were less hard together. Healing took time, and it was the baby steps that counted.

"And the guilt is still present?"

Taking a sip of my water, I nodded. Shawn nodded with a neutral expression and marked something down on his notepad.

"It's uh, hard to explain. I'm conscious of the fact that it wasn't me. That I was under the control of the real killer, and that FRIDAY has confirmed that what I did was a drop in the bucket of the injuries he sustained, but it's like... none of that matters because I still hate myself for it."

"The conscious and subconscious, while connected, are separate things. What you're trying to attempt to do is form a bridge between the two and come to an understanding. You have the foundation, it's the finer details that matter now."

Nodding, I looked to the side. Focusing on the finer details, huh?

"You've done well confronting the problem. But I believe there's something holding you back from the chance to move on like we've discussed. What is that?"

"Closure," I answered immediately, and Shawn's eyebrows rose in surprise, "I never got to talk to Thanos about what happened, not really. He did what he did, and then he was beheaded by Thor. Then I saw him again, but he took control without the knowledge of what he did, and he died too... I never got to talk to him about what he did."

Humming in contemplation, Shawn tapped his pencil against his pad of paper. Before he could give an answer, the doorbell rang. And he seemed a bit relieved about it.

"Looks like our time is up for today. I'll see you in two weeks from now?"

"Yeah. And then I have that school trip so I won't have any for a bit," I confirmed, pulling on my shoes and opening the door to greet my parents.

"Ready to go? If traffic is good we won't be late," my mom checked her watch for the time.

"Yeah, I'm good." Saying goodbye to Shawn, I hurried out to the car and buckled my seatbelt as we were pulling out of the home.

The trip from Queens to our destination in Jersey was around two hours, which was why I had insisted on making an appointment so early in the morning - 9 AM - so I wouldn't break my streak, but so we'd still make it on time.

"Eight hours and Jess will be a married woman!" My dad cheered. He loved weddings, "We'll need to pay attention to the venue to see if it would work for you and Peter-"

"Dad," I warned.

"Sorry!"

~*~

Two hours later we arrived at the Legacy Castle. It was gigantic and glorious. It was a castle in every sense of the word. I marveled at the grand decorations. Chandeliers, gold detailing, ornate railings on the central stairway. It was straight out of a fairytale.

"(Y/n)!" Jess barrel rushed me in a hug, knocking the breath out of my lungs, "You're here, good! I'll bring you to the room, then I have a hair stylist and a makeup artist coming in, and your dress is already upstairs since we picked it up from the tailor last week. Clara, Lucas, there's a free bar down that hallway, and a sitting room across from that with food. Feel free to relax and rent a movie."

My parents nodded, wished us luck, and left. Jess grabbed my hand and dragged me up the staircase, taking a right when it branched off. I assumed Via was to the left with her group.

I met Via for the first time nearly six months before the wedding. It was strange, meeting her so late in the game, but according to Jess she worked with charities overseas and had to travel to meet with a few of them during the planning process. I couldn't get upset about that.

Via was beautiful, down to Earth, and one of the nicest people I'd ever met. She gave off an aura that automatically drew people to her. It was a mix of regalness and natural charisma that was intoxicating in a sense. Through our dinner together, I learned she was born and raised in Singapore and went to a British school until college when she decided to go to New York.

Needless to say, I gave my stamp of approval as soon as Jess and I went back to the apartment building.

"Jess, don't take this the wrong way, but how are you affording all this?" I asked as we passed different pieces of art that all seemed more expensive than my apartment and everything inside combined.

"That's the thing," Jess turned to me after stopping in front of a door, "Via's family is loaded. She owns the charities she works for, and the British schools she went to were posh private ones. It's not why I'm marrying her, obviously, but everyone in her family wanted to help out and got us this venue. They're like the royals of Asia."

"You're marrying a princess?"

"No, but yes. God I love her," with that, Jess pushed open the door.

There were two guys and two girls inside. The guys were Connor and Mark, one she'd known since she was a kid and the other her cousin she considered a brother. The girls were Shelby and Eliza, a classmate and a co-worker at our apartment building. Varying from 20 to 28, all of them were amazing and welcoming as we got ready. Jess kept good company.

The hairstylist did exactly as I requested and more by clipping in a strand of blue and chartreuse flowers - the wedding colors. The makeup artist did the same. The pair finished all of us in a little less than two hours by tag teaming. Everything was perfect and going to plan in a way I didn't think I could have in life.

"Alright, final reveal with hair and makeup. Everybody ready?" Jess called from the walk-in closet provided in our room for outfit storage.

"Ready!" We called together.

Jess stepped out, and we cheered simultaneously. Despite her style leaning towards the feminine side, three months before when we were shopping for her outfit, she stated that she wanted something than was more her. So, she stepped out in a white jumpsuit with an upside-down cut out V made from lace on her torso. Jess knew she was gorgeous and was proud to show it off.

"I'm getting married!" She screamed, and all of us cheered again.

Thirty minutes later - full of further excitement, final touches, and Jess taking two shots of liquid courage - we were paired up with our counterparts to walk down the aisle. Via was in a dress. A-line, flowing, and accentuating what was already there. Two beautiful people joining together in a beautiful marriage.

My eyes wandered around the seating in front of us. Both families were intermixed with each other, but I could pick out a face here or there that bore a resemblance to Jess or Via. Especially when their parents were in the front rows. My parents were towards the back and sitting next to them was Peter and May.

Meeting Peter's eyes, I smiled, and mouthed 'I love you'. He mouthed it back, and I sniffled emotionally.

"The brides may kiss."

The room erupted into applause and cheers. Jess and Via walked down the catwalk - that's right, a freaking catwalk - hand in hand, grinning like no tomorrow. Picking a mic up from the end, Via announced, "The reception is across the hall. Enjoy the food and music."

I was at the head table with the other bridesmaids and bridesmen, but I visited my parents, Peter, and May at their table to the right. The dance floor was in the center of the room, the DJ in front of that and tables on either side of it with the dinner buffet in the corner.

"Hi!" I greeted everyone with a hug, "What do you think?"

"This is the most expensive everything I have ever seen," May mumbled, looking around with wide eyes.

"Yeah, apparently Via's family is super rich and they're the ones who bought the venue. It's insane isn't it?"

"They're so cute," my mom gushed, watching them greet their guests across the room, "I'm so happy Jess found someone that makes her so happy. And who's so okay with having Via's family pay for the venue, I'm calling seconds."

At that, my mom picked up her plate and rushed back to the buffet. Chuckling with a shake of my head, I gave Peter a kiss on the cheek and hurried back to the head table when the lights dimmed. That meant that the father-daughter dance was coming up for Via and the mother-daughter dance for Jess. Things worked out well, considering Via was marginally closer with her dad, and Jess' parents were divorced and her mom got sole custody when she was young.

Taking my seat again, I watched with a bright smile and teary eyes as the pair each danced with their own emotional parent to a song significant to them. It seemed cliche to get so emotional at a wedding, but when Jess had been so influential and such a good friend to me before the Blip, I was bound to cry a little.

After the sentimental dances came the classics. Cupid Shuffle, Electric Slide, Cotton Eyed Joe, so on. Past the upbeat music, at the end of the night when everyone was ready to crash from how much they had eaten and worked off in a short amount of time, was the slow dancing.

I roped Peter into it and was impressed by his natural ability to dance with me, crediting Aunt May for the talent. Holding him closer than Shuri "leave room for Jesus" Udaku would have liked, I basked in everything that was Peter.

The little hints of cologne I would get when I shifted my nose near his neck, the hairs he didn't gel brushing my cheek, his soft breathing in my ear and his hands on my hips on a spot below my modifications and above anything that would be inappropriate in public.

"You're perfect," I whispered, not fully processing the words before they came out. I'd thought it for years, uttering it from time to time and being dismissed due to another conversation popping up or from disbelief of my words.

Peter momentarily tensed up around me, "Uh, um. I don't- I don't really see myself as perfect."

"You are to me," I closed my eyes, "I love you Peter, for everything you've ever done for me and for dealing with my crap for so long."

"It's not crap, (Y/n). I'll never see it that way. All of it is real, and tangible, and something I don't have to 'deal with' because it doesn't bother me. Not when we've been together for so long, and not when I love you so much."

"You're gonna make me cry," I sniffled with a laugh.

"Sorry," Peter chuckled, holding me tighter.

Closing my eyes again, I imagined myself as the one in a wedding dress, and Peter across from me in a more formal suit. MJ, Ned, and Harry were dancing near. The X-Men were around, my parents were crying in the corner - more specifically my dad - and I was Mrs. (Y/n) Parker.

It was a nice fantasy. Or rather, a nice prediction for a future we could have.


	12. Normal Vacation

The Friday after the wedding I was exhausted. It had been six days since Via and Jess got married, yet the grogginess I had the day after the wedding seemed to carry over to the rest of the week. That and the fact that it was the last week of the school year also added to that. But what got me through was the knowledge that the next day, a group from our class who'd had the highest overall scores on the midterms and finals were traveling Europe.

It was a vacation Peter and I sorely needed after the insane year we'd had.

Walking through the hallway, I paused the watch the horribly cringey memorial video to Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Vision play on the daily news. When it was - thankfully- over, Betty and Jason appeared on screen.

_"Gone. But not forgotten," Betty stated dramatically._

_"Thanks to Kenneth Laymour and Fian Raymour for their help with that touching video tribute."_

_"This year has been nothing short of-"_

_Jason's mouth blurred and beeped, "crazy. It's like insane."_

_"Jason."_

_"What?'_

_"No swearing."_

_"Yeah, it's like the last day of school, we're good."_

_Betty rolled her eyes, "Historic. Over five years ago, half of all life in the universe, including our own Midtown High was wiped from existence. But then eight months ago, a band of brave heroes brought us back. They called it the Blip. Those of us who blipped away came back the same age. But our classmates that didn't blip grew five years older."_

_"Yeah, like my little brother is now older than me."_

_"Yeah, it's math. And even though we had blipped away halfway through the school year and had already taken midterms, the school made us start the whole year over from the beginning."_

_"Totally unfair. It's not right."_

_"Tigers, it's been a long, dramatic, somewhat confusing road. As we draw this year to a close, it's time to move on to a new phase of our lives."_

_"Pray nothing crazy happens again because are the Avengers even a thing anymore? Does anyone even have a plan?"_

Sighing, I continued on my way to my last hour. Thanks to it being a half day, I had thirty minutes to mess around with Peter, Ned, MJ, and Harry.

The teacher took role, and we were free. I moved to sit next to MJ and chatted with her about what she was looking forward to on the trip. Peter and Ned were talking quietly and rapidly to each other at the back of the class, and Harry was hissing something over the phone.

"Company stuff?" I leaned over and asked quietly.

Pausing, Harry nodded slowly, then ended his phone conversation with "You have the plan and you have the locations. Stick to them."

He set his phone down and sighed, running a hand through his hair, "There's a big project coming to a close and everything has to be perfect for it to work."

I hummed in understanding, "Have you had any time to write lately?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, "You remembered that I want to be an author?"

"Of course! I was just curious since you've been busy with the company and all that."

"Oh, um. Sort of. This project relied on a lot of creativity so that counts, I guess?"

Chuckling, I nodded in agreement. MJ leaned over to whisper, "Those two idiots are conspiring over there."

Glancing over to Peter and Ned, I realized that they were still whispering to each other. Nodding at each other, MJ and I stood and walked over to the boys. Immediately, they hushed up and watched us approach.

"What's up, dorks? Excited about the science trip?" MJ questioned.

"Hey, uh, yeah. We're just talking about the trip," Peter stuttered out.

"Yeah, and Peter's plan," Ned added, and Peter smacked his arm.

Tilting my head innocently, I asked "What plan?"

"I don't have a plan."

"No, he's just going to collect tiny spoons while we're traveling to other countries."

"Like a grandma?" MJ asked with a laugh.

"I'm not collecting tiny spoons. He's collecting tiny spoons," Peter chuckled nervously.

"Okay..." Though I wouldn't put it past Ned to collect tiny spoons, he was more likely to collect things related to fandoms. Something was definitely up.

"By the way, travel tip: You should probably download a VPN on your phone, just so that the government can't track you while we're abroad," MJ advised in her classic fashion.

"Smart. Will do."

MJ left at that, and I leaned my arms against the table to get closer to Peter, "You wanna give me a ride to May's benefit tonight?"

"Sure, I'll swing by twenty minutes before it's supposed to start."

"Great," I kissed his cheek, "Oh, and watch yourself Bug-Boy. Girls always find out what their boyfriends are hiding."

I left with a wink, the only thing on my mind was to get through the day and make it to tomorrow.

~*~

Later that night, I pulled on my original - well, original as in the one Shuri made since it was easy to remove - uniform and joined Peter in his swing to the benefit. He was in his Iron-Spider suit. He was healing better than I was, apparently.

When we arrived, we waited in the industrial kitchen until May called us out to give our two cents at the end of her speech. It wouldn't take very long, and we'd be able to get home pretty quickly afterwards.

"I'd like to tell you a story. When one of my close friends blipped back to her apartment, the family living there was very confused. The wife thought that she was a mistress. The Grandma thought that she was a ghost. It was- it was really a mess. Thank you all for coming out to support those who we're misplaced by the Blip, and, of course, thank you Spider-Man and Riptide!"

Peter and I waved to the crowd as they applauded for us. It was weird, being such a public figure. Before the Blip, it was just a news article here or there. The Avengers always overshadowed us. But they didn't exist anymore, that shadow was gone. And we were in the spotlight.

"Thank you, Ms. Parker, for having us. And thank you guys for having us," Peter gave an awkward thumbs up. Rolling my eyes, I stepped up to the mic.

"We are very happy to do everything we can to support this cause. The Blip has been very difficult for the world, and we are dedicated to our little corner of it. Thank you."

Sending Peter a bright smile, the three of us stepped backstage as the audience cheered once more.

"That was amazing," Peter breathed out as his mask receded from his face.

"That was great."

All of us exchanged high fives.

"Ah, that was so cool. I was a little nervous!" Peter admitted.

I laughed, "It was easy to tell, Bug-Boy. But it was still good, and your voice was different so that's a plus."

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine," May waved her hand dismissively, "Did you get your passport?"

"Yeah."

"Mini toothpaste?"

"Yeah."

"What about you, (Y/n)?"

"Don't worry, I've gone to Wakanda before. This trip will be nothing," I assured her. Speaking of which, I had to talk to Shuri about when I'd be starting up my internship again. I still planned on going to college after all.

With a giant check in his hands, Happy entered through the back door, "Hey, sorry I'm late."

"Happy, hey!"

"Oh, you look lovely," Happy complimented May's dress.

"Thanks, you too."

"Thanks. New dress?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes, it is. That's a new beard."

Peter and I shared a confused look. When... when did they get so close?

"It's my Blip beard, because I grew it in the blip. Blip beard."

"I see."

"Anyway, the reason I'm late is because this was misplaced," Happy held up the check, "Can you believe it? Because its enormous. Not the amount, the size. The amount and the size. From the very generous Pepper Potts. Sorry she couldn't be here."

May took the check gratefully, "I think I'm going to go check on the Vegan Lasagna. Spider-Man, Riptide, go shake hands."

May left with one last glance over her shoulder. Okay... that was new and slightly uncomfortable. But at the same time if it made them happy then who was I to say something about it?

"What just happened?" Peter finally asked after a too-long silence.

Happy dodged the question with an equally as shocking statement, "Heads up, Nick Fury is calling you."

"Nick Fury is going to call _us_? Why?"

"Why? Because he probably has some hero stuff for you. Superhero stuff. And you're superheroes."

"He has so many other people he could call," I argued, "If not the remaining Avengers then the X-Men or-"

Peter's phone buzzed in his bag, cutting me off. Immediately we knew who it was, and he rushed to answer it.

"See? No caller ID, that's him," Happy confirmed.

"I don't really want to talk to Nick Fury," Peter frowned.

"Yeah, not on my itinerary either."

"You have to."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't talk to him then I have to talk to him and I don't wanna talk to him!"

"Well, why don't you want to talk to him?"

"Because I'm scared- just answer the phone!" Peter held up the phone and made a show of pressing the Decline Call button, "You sent Nick Fury to voicemail?"

My phone began ringing. I pulled it out of my belt pocket and declined the call without hesitation. If Happy had pearls, he would be clutching them he was so offended.

"You can't send Nick Fury to voicemail! You were adults, I thought you'd be mature about this!"

"We aged back," I shrugged dismissively. There was that teenage immaturity that Jean mentioned we'd get back.

"Do you hear that? They're calling for us," Peter motioned to the curtains behind us, "It's- We gotta go. We gotta go. We're gonna call him. I promise you we're gonna call him," his Iron-Spider legs extended from his back and moved the curtains aside, "We will."

"You do not ghost Nick Fury!"

"I promise you we'll call him!" His legs closed the curtains again, and he sent me a smile, "After our trip. Ready?"

"Ready."

We pushed open the curtain, "Hey!"

After the first round of pictures and autographs - where I nearly wrote my actual name at least three times - the news stations were allowed to approach. Immediately it was like a mob was after us. Having never dealt with the press before, neither Peter nor I knew how to handle it well.

"Okay, okay," Peter pointed at a random woman near the front.

"Are you the head Avengers now?"

"Uh, no we're not," he pointed to another woman.

"If aliens come back, what are you gonna do?"

That wasn't a good question to ask, because neither of us knew. We were teenagers who didn't even have our new driver's licenses because we'd been busy. How would we know how to deal with an alien invasion?

Taking the reins, I pointed at a young girl who was too cute for words, "Are you and Spider-Man in love?"

The crowd actually became silent at that. I looked to Peter, who shrugged his approval, "Yes, we are."

Screams from the crowd. I jumped slightly in shock. Not what I expected from that answer. Though, enjoying the occasional fandom and ship myself, I understood the absolute joy that came from having it be confirmed.

"Does anyone have any neighborhood questions?" Peter asked weakly.

"Storm Winston, Queens Tribute. What is it like to take over for Tony Stark? Those are some big shoes to fill."

The crowd's voices became even louder at that, Misty gave me a warning that Peter and I were showing the early signs of panic attacks. Not wanting to take any chances, I grabbed Peter's arm.

"Thank you for coming everyone, we need to go now!"

Peter wrapped an arm around my waist and jumped through the curtain, taking a cautious peek through and grabbing his backpack when he knew Happy wasn't there. From there, he took the back exit and shot a web to the roof, swinging us up.

"That was a lot, wasn't it?" I sighed, pulling off my mask and pressing it against my belt knowing it would automatically attach, "I hate the press, always too nosey for their own good."

Mask moving away from his face, Peter nodded in silent agreement. I wasn't sure why he was being so quiet until I saw what he was looking at. A memorial to Iron Man. Sighing, I took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Relaxing vacation to Europe," I encouraged, earning a smile in return, "We'll just have to make Nick Fury wait a little longer."

Peter chuckled, "I can't believe we're ghosting _the_ Nick Fury."

"Teenagers. Am I right?"


	13. *Bonus Chapter*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a thank you for all your amazing support, I have a little bonus chapter for you guys! It takes place after (Y/n)'s rescue but before Endgame. There will be smut, but I'll mark where it starts and where it ends if you don't want to read it.
> 
> Enjoy!

A year and a half of therapy hadn't done much for me. The professor did his best, and Nebula was inspirational, but it wasn't enough. So, I pulled a Tony Stark and drowned my sorrows in the alcohol hidden in the bunker. Water was malleable and easily fit into locks.

Red solo cups full of dirty thirty beer couldn't compare to the buzz I felt from well-aged whiskey. Enough so I really _could_ forget what I'd done and gone through.

"(Y/n)? The professor said that you left the session early and- oh god, (Y/n). Again?"

Humming, I spun around on my heels, greeting Peter with a smile, "Peter! I was about to look for you!"

Peter glared at the bottle in my hand, "Put it down, (Y/n)."

"It makes me feel better. You want me to feel better, don't you?"

"This isn't the way, (Y/n). You're nineteen and getting so drunk you're out of your mind. It's not right."

Setting, and nearly dropping, the bottle on the desk, I stumbled into Peter's arms. He was so handsome, so loving, and so ready to give me the reassurance I desperately needed.

My lips clashed against Peter's in a one-sided kiss. Nudges against his chest prompted him to step backwards until he reached the bed.

"What are you doing?" Peter pulled back, holding my wrists to prevent me from pushing him further.

"I need to forget. You love me even after everything, right? Prove it." I fussed with the seam of his shirt.

Hand held up between our faces, I was unable to kiss Peter anymore. Frowning, I stepped back. He was trying to stop me from kissing him, from loving him... almost like he didn't love me. My eyes teared up at the thought.

"No. You're drunk and hurting. Our first time having sex is not going to be under these circumstances."

"Why not?" I whined childishly.

"So many reasons. Now lay down. You're _really_ gonna feel this in the morning."

"That's bullshit," I slurred, stumbling without the intention to walk in the first place. Peter caught my arms, holding me steady, "Total bullshit."

Peter's face contorted to show confusion, "What do you mean? You're _drunk_ (Y/n). There's no way you won't feel this."

"Maybe I will, but I do this all the time. It's- it's- it's how I feel better. 'Cause otherwise I feel like crap. I'm just a murderer and a daughter of that purple grape guy and nothing will ever change that and he's still in my head and-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Peter cut me off, rubbing my arms soothingly, "He may still be in your head, but _you_ control how you handle that, okay? Now get into bed."

Following his orders, I climbed onto our bed. Although seconds earlier I was rearing and ready to go, I was out.

~*~

The next morning my skull was splitting in half. No nausea though, which was a shocking blessing- more than welcome. Groaning, I shoved my face into the pillow beneath me, having half a mind to sleep my hangover away.

"You're awake, good. Take this. I started a bath when it looked like you were waking up. It should be warm by now."

He shoved two pills and a glass of water into my hands. Lifting my head, I downed the meds, barely registering Peter as he knelt down in front of me. He scooped me up and carried me to our en suite bathroom, setting me on the tub rim.

"I'll go get you some toast. Take your time, though. You need this- not that you smell bad or anything! Well, you kind of smell like alcohol. But you've been stressed and hungover- which we need to talk about, eventually."

"Can we wait until tonight?"

"It's three in the afternoon, Blue."

"...Oh."

Chuckling, Peter left. Sighing, I took off my clothes and left them in a pile on the floor. I sunk into the warm waters. Heaven on my queasy stomach and aching head.

Whilst in the tub, I thought over everything that led me to that point. You always look at people who drink to forget in disdain, but until you have something you want to forget, you don't understand their thought processes. Hell, hearing about Tony's and Xavier's struggles through alcoholism never resonated with me like it did until I was in the bathtub.

The sessions worked in bits and pieces, my conscious slowly feeling better- but it wasn't enough. That's when I went into the alcohol cabinet for the first time.

I washed my body and hair. After, I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out. Peter was waiting on one of the two loveseats with toast and a cup.

"You should eat, and I got a virgin Bloody Mary for you too, depending on how you feel."

"Awful."

Adjusting my towel, I sat across from Peter and took the drink and plate from his hands. Eating silently, I kept sneaking glances at him. The disappointment was obvious in his features.

"I'm sorry," I finally spoke when I finished the plain bread and butter.

Peter sighed, "Sorry isn't going to fix everything."

"I know."

Sighing again, Peter pulled me into a hug. Setting my drink on the coffee table, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders to hug him back with equal fervor. Comfort, safety, trust, love. They were all things I felt from Peter Parker. He'd been by my side for years- my partner in hero work. All he'd ever asked for in return was what I felt from him.

Maybe that's why it was so easy to fall apart in his arms.

"You don't deserved this," I whispered, nosing along his freshly cut hair, "You gave up being a photographer to move here with me, and all I've done is get drunk and mope around."

"I would die for you, (Y/n). You've been through hell and you're still putting out fires in yourself."

"I said you had to prove you loved me. That's not healthy, Peter. I tried to push you past your limits," I continued, only half processing his reassurances.

"Did we have sex? No. Did you really push me? No. Do I feel like I have to prove my love? Yes, because you manage to make my world shake when you smile, and my heart explode when you laugh. And when you say I love you, I could hold the galaxy in my hands and I'd throw it away to hear you say it again."

Half sobbing, half smiling, I clutched Peter even tighter. My life had turned into thousands of strings overlapping and twisting together to form an enormous knot. Peter could give one pull and it'd all fall apart.

"I love you, Bug-Boy."

"There goes the galaxy," Peter chuckled, brushing his lips over my cheek, "I love you too. Now drink that hangover cure so we can spend the day talking and watching movies."

Per Peter's command, I chugged the drink and snuggled up next to him as he turned on the TV. We bickered about what movie to watch and settled on _A Monster Calls_. A good one, but watched enough that we could talk with minimum distraction.

Even though it was obvious I needed a real, certified therapist, Peter felt deadly similar to one when there was a bowl of popcorn between us.

So, I spilled my guts. Which included, but wasn't limited to: sobbing about the people I'd hurt, updating him on my sessions with the professor, ranting about how angry I was with Thanos, and ending with admitting how much I hated my body because of the modifications Thanos made.

It was enough to get us through two-and-a-half movies- the half one being _Mortal Instruments_ , two water bottles, and popcorn.

"Wait... you hate your body?" Peter couldn't fathom the idea, "But you're so... perfect."

I laughed at that, "Even before what Thanos did, I was far from perfect."

Peter was even more shocked, but soon blushed, "I don't know, I think- I think that everything about you is gorgeous."

"Stop it, you sap!" I covered my face in embarrassment.

Gently prying my fingers away from my face, Peter kissed me slowly, sensually. His lips left mine and trailed over the metal above my brows.

"The guy who made you hate yourself is an asshole, but none of this changes _you_ , (Y/n)."

Peter returned to my lips. Humming, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Fingers, warm and hesitant, slid slightly under my shirt.

"Is this okay?"

Without hesitation I nodded. His hands wandered to the modifications on my torso, brushing over them with the utmost care. I no longer had nerves there, but his feather light touches weren't easily missed. The metal lines ended below my ribs, yet he kept travelling up.

Per a coincidence I would call perfect, the garden scene began, and the song that played, Heart by Heart, increased the tension both on screen and between Peter and me.

**{The smut starts now. I'll mark where it ends like I have here.}**

Also sensing the shift, Peter hooked his arms under my legs and lifted me off the couch. He dropped me on the bed, crawling on after. His hands returned to their original resting place just below my bra strap.

"Can I?"

I nodded, arching my back to assist him as he unhooked it. First came off my shirt, thrown haphazardly to the side. Then, came the bra. The straps brushed down my arms until it too could be thrown aside.

"Wow," Peter breathed.

My face might as well have been on fire. Resisting the urge to cover myself, I watched Peter's expression carefully. It's nothing he hadn't seen before. If we were still in high school, we would have told our friends we were 'half-virgins'. The term was a bit stupid, but we still identified within it. We'd been in sexual situations before, and got release from each other, but not in the 'reproduction' way.

"Oh, right. I want this to be equal," Peter tugged his shirt off, revealing the abs I loved so much, "Even though women are told to cover up their breasts and men can be shirtless because society targets women's sensuality unless it suits them."

Grinning, I carded a hand through Peter's hair and pulled him down to me, "There's my Peter." I whispered before kissing him silly.

Hesitant, his hands hovered over my breasts. Placing my own hands on top of his, I guided him. He gave a small squeeze, then flicked his thumbs over my nipples. Inhaling sharply, that encouraged him to continue.

"You'll tell me if you're uncomfortable with anything, right?" Peter's lips left mine to hover over my breasts.

"Of course."

With that his flicked his tongue over my right nipple, rolling the left between his thumb and pointer finger- both of which drew gasps. Using his free hand, he tugged on the string of my joggers until they were loose on my hips. I lifted my hips to assist in the removal of my pants and panties; of which joined my other clothes on the floor.

Nothing we had done in the past had left me so exposed. So vulnerable. Peter took all of me in. My stomach twisted in knots as he did. Finally, he broke the silence, and I fell in love with him all over again. He was adorkable.

"You- you're really pretty- but I don't want you to think I'm doing this because you're hot, because this means something to me."

"I know, Peter. You're a fine specimen too, I get it."

Sighing in relief, Peter unbuttoned his own pants and pulled them down. Although Peter had never seen _my_ bottom half before, I'd seen his. Hence the whole 'half virgins' thing. We knew our limits and were willing to explicitly set them.

Peter was well endowed from what I understood. According to him, along with his muscles growing from the spider bite, everything else did too. Slightly longer than average with girth to spare. It was flushed, hard, and as ready as I was.

"Look at you, Parker," I teased, giggling when he flushed.

Positioning his knees on either side of my legs, he pressed a finger against my aching heat. Moaning, my legs spread to give him easier access. He repositioned in between my legs-

"Wait, shit, do we have condoms?" It hadn't dawned on me before that we'd need protection that night.

Peter reached over to the nightstand on his side of the bed and pulled the drawer open, producing a little silver package. Raising a brow for an explanation, Peter flushed.

"Aunt May gives them to me sometimes when I visit..."

"Of course she does," I giggled.

Tearing open the package Peter put the condom on himself and returned to his former position. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I braced myself as he lined up. Perhaps closing my eyes and focusing on anything else but the oncoming pain would have been smarter, but I was stuck staring in Peter's eyes. Even hooded and clouded with lust, they shined with adoration and awe.

I gulped as the pressure of him pushing in broke through my thoughts. Peter was considerate enough to go slowly, pausing every time he saw even a twinge of discomfort on my face. Thanks to the slow pace, and the chance to adjust, it wasn't as horrible as it could have been. Not to say it was immediate pleasure, but when you've been through as much shit as I had, it was bearable.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked breathlessly.

I nodded once, "Yeah, yeah I'm good."

Peter experimentally thrust his hips. Humming in pleasure, my body finally relaxed into the sheets beneath me. Peter put his lips back on mine, thrusting again.

The heat-fueled kiss began to fade when I was moaning into his mouth like it was all I knew how to do, his cock stretching me blissfully as we navigated our newest and deepest connection together. Perhaps it wasn't perfect, and at times the both of us had to assist the other, but I wouldn't trade the moment for the world.

"I love you, (Y/n), I love you, I love you."

Moaning out as we finally found a rhythm that worked, Peter lifted a hand and trailed it over my stomach like he was touching a piece of antique glass. The change of focus adjusted the pace, and with an accidentally angled thrust, I choked out a moan louder than the others. Head snapping up to look at me, Peter repeated what he did, drawing the same kind of reaction.

What had often been called a carnal act, a language of beasts, was making me lightheaded with surges of overwhelming love and gentleness. It was sending me into euphoria and that was all I could really focus on at that moment.

Peter's pants became more apparent, and he lowered his head onto my shoulder, his sweat-covered forehead mixing with the thin layer of sweat that was adorning my body. So much heat for such a cold winter day in upstate New York.

"Don't stop Peter," I begged below a whisper as if he would.

On the contrary, his pace quickened even more. He muffled his moans by holding his lips against the crook of my neck, but the vibrations were being sent throughout my body and it made me so much more sensitive, making me feel so much more intimate with him. My nails found purchase in the skin of his back, and with the knowledge of his enhanced healing, I wasn't afraid of dragging them down.

A coil formed in my lower stomach. Not the most common one I felt, where it was dread and a sense of impending danger. It was something I'd felt few times, each and every one curtesy of Peter. I knew it meant-

Everything crashed down in that moment. A whimper caught in my vocal cords as my world disappeared in a rush of blinding pleasure. A steady thrum remained in my veins even as my vision returned. It was from Peter, from myself, from the air around us and everything so far away.

Peter didn't announce his climax either, just stopped his ministrations and groaned low in his throat. His arms were shaking, and I pushed on his bicep until he took the hint and shifted onto his side whilst pulling out. I hissed through my teeth at the sudden change, but took the chance to shift towards Peter as well.

**{Smut complete. Welcome back everyone who skipped and enjoy the fluffy ending!}**

Blinking blearily, I felt a pair of lips against my forehead and a blanket over my bare body. A few more seconds and Peter was next to me again, pulling me close.

"I love you too," I whispered, pressing a kiss against his jaw, "That was nice."

"Nice?"

"What? You want me to get on my knees and sing your praises?" I asked with a small smile, "You know what I meant Bug-Boy."

Humming in agreement, Peter sighed against my hair, "I'm glad we finally talked about your drinking, and that we did this. You're gonna keep talking to me about this, right?"

"Right."

"And the professor?"

"Yes, sir," I chuckled, "Let's just finish the movie together and go to sleep, okay?"

"You know I can't say no to you." We turned back to the movie which was three-quarters done at the point, and snuggled close.

The future wouldn't be easy, and all of my mental instability wouldn't go away overnight- I knew that. But I was a survivor. I'd been a hero for years, and even if Peter and I had technically required, my fighting spirit wasn't going anywhere.

Whatever the world threw at me, I'd come out shining.


	14. Mysterious Man

The next morning I was in a hurry to make sure I had everything for the trip. I checked, then double checked, then triple checked the list that had been sent out. Along with all the clothes and 'research materials', I had some other fun things, entertainment for the long flight, and the Riptide cuffs Shuri made for me. Peter was determined to make it a normal vacation, but I was a bit more realistic and knew that the world wouldn't take a vacation just because we were.

_Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz._

Checking my phone, I declined yet another call from Nick Fury. That was the second one that morning and the fifth one in all. He was likely calling Peter as well. Zipping up my suitcase, I slung my backpack over my shoulder.

Parents waiting for me by the door, I bid goodbye to Jess as she entered the building, and loaded into the car. The ride to the airport was full of the usual music and New York traffic, which was why we left so early.

When we got to the airport, I reminded my parents to pick me up in Jersey, and gave them tight hugs. Most of the class was already there along with Mr. Harrington. When the last stragglers, including Flash who was "fashionably late", arrived, we handed in our boarding passes and entered the plane.

Peter was behind me in line, and to keep things going smoothly, I simply sat next to Betty as the seats filled up. She was nice, and I didn't have any problems with her so I was fine with it.

"Yo, Parker!" Flash called from first class, "This is called an airplane. It's like the busses you're used to, expect it flies over the poor neighborhoods instead of driving through them."

"I'm not even in first class and I co-own a million dollar company. Flex," Harry muttered from the seat in front of me, causing me to push it forward with my foot and laugh. He sent me an award-winning smile in return.

MJ, who was passing by, called out to the flight attendant, "Excuse me, ma'am? He Blipped, so technically he's sixteen. Not twenty-one."

"I'll take that," the flight attendant took the glass of champagne he was holding.

"She's lying, I don't even know this girl!"

With a smirk, MJ continued and sat next to Harry in front of me, who was next to Brad Davis, filling up that row.

"What do you think about the fashion that's come out since we blipped?" Betty asked me seriously.

That was another thing. It'd be... difficult to explain how we hadn't aged but stayed alive, so with some help, we changed official records so they said we'd blipped. We made it through the entire school year without giving ourselves away. Score one for us.

"Well, the world paused so I can't say that what's come out is-"

"Hey Betty, would you mind switching with me?" Peter walked up to us.

"Why?"

"Because the lady in front of us is wearing perfume and I'm allergic," Peter stated sarcastically, as if the answer wasn't obvious already. Betty let out an 'oh' and went to pick up her things when Mr. Harrington cut in.

"Perfume allergy? I know from experience that those shouldn't be messed with."

"Oh, no I was just being-"

"Ned, switch with (Y/n). Harry you can sit next to her so she's not alone, and Peter, you're with me back here."

Sighing in frustration, Peter picked up his carry on and walked a row back to where Mr. Harrington was sitting with Mr. Dell.

"Sorry," I mouthed to him when we made eye contact. He shrugged hopelessly.

I was entirely sure why _I_ was being moved, but I couldn't argue against it. I sat where Peter previously was, Ned sat next to Betty, and Harry scooted past MJ to sit next to me.

"I've got a dual headphone adaptor if you want to watch a movie together," Harry offered, holding up the small device like it was precious.

"Sure, anything that's not about superheroes. I deal with enough of that already," I chuckled, pulling out my headphones.

"Rom-Com?"

"Let's do it!"

~*~

The flight wasn't bad at all. Thanks to Harry's unlimited streaming access and the plethora of things I packed for myself to do, I was entertained the entire way.

At the airport, we found our luggage and waited in line at customs. I waved Peter over to the line I was in with Ned. Harry had been recognized by some manager on the staff while we were getting off the plane and was rushed through security 'for his safety'. I loved him, but what a jerk.

"That flight was the worst," Peter sighed tiredly.

"Relax Peter, things will work out okay," Ned replied calmly.

Betty practically skipped up to us, "Hey baby, can you hold this for me, please?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thanks," Betty kissed Ned's cheek. They stared into each other's eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time until Ned booped her nose. Peter and I exchanged confused glances. Was everyone secretly getting together?

"What's going on there?" I asked when Betty was out of earshot.

"Well, we sat next to each other on the plane, and it turns out that we have a _lot_ in common. So uh, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now."

" _Boyfriend_ and _girlfriend_?" It was a very highschool thing to say, "Is that what Peter and I look like?"

"Without a doubt all the time. You two are so in love it's disgusting."

Well, that was a frightening revelation.

"Whatever happened to being an American bachelor in Europe?" Peter questioned quizzically.

"Peter, those were the words of a boy. And that boy met a woman. A very strong and powerful woman. And now, that boy is a man."

"Babe?"

"Coming babe."

As soon as they were gone I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. Ned and Betty were the last pair I could see getting together for _so_ many reasons. It took Peter and I _months_ to get together, and they were "Boyfriend and girlfriend" after a long plane ride? Everything about it was comical.

"This vacation has already gotten off to a really weird start," I placed my bag on the observation belt and passed through the metal detector without issue, assuming Peter was right behind me.

It wasn't until I joined up with the main group again that I realized he wasn't with us. Panic rose in my gut, and I resisted the urge to immediately pull out my suit. The past few years had been stressful, and my hero instincts were good, but that didn't mean I had to jump on everything that set them off.

Sure enough, Peter was sprinting to catch up with our group two minutes later, putting my fears to rest.

"I'm here! Mr. Harrington I'm here."

"Oh, thank goodness," Mr. Harrington acted relieved, like he hadn't kept walking as if he had all the kids.

"What happened?" I asked Peter.

"One of the dogs sniffed my bag out. When the security lady went through it, my suit was out in the open. May snuck it in before I left."

"Did she put the pieces together?"

"She looked kind of dead on the inside, and so she just took the banana out of my bag and threw it away."

"That could have been a disaster."

From the airport, we met Harry outside who was speaking to that same manager guy who got him through security. Apparently Oscorp did international business with some of their shareholders and that was why he was recognized. Rich people.

Our group loaded onto a boat to transport us across the city. It was gorgeous, a place I had never seen before- even with Kurt's constant 'field trips'. Per MJ's offer, Peter and I got several pictures together with the beautiful architecture in the background.

"We're here," Mr. Harrington announced as we pulled up in front of a decrepit building that could definitely collapse on us at any given moment.

Our class grumbled their disagreement. Frowning but holding back my comments, I picked up my bags and carefully stepped off the boat. A floating city. I was in my element and I couldn't be more happy, even if our hotel was less than desirable.

"Here we are- woah," Mr. Harrington stepped in a stream running through the lobby.

"This place is sinking," Flash deadpanned.

"I think you mean charming," Mr. Harrington tried to save the situation.

"Alright everybody, drop your bags off. We're going to meet at the Da Vinci museum at three! Let's go!"

With even more displeased murmurs, the class trekked up the steps and broke off into their designated rooms. Since we could request roommates, I was with MJ.

"When you're in Rome, you do as the Romans do. When you're in Venice, your socks get wet!" At least that gained a few chuckles.

The rooms were nice all things considered. Sturdy beds with slightly questionable sheets - that MJ immediately sprayed with a disinfectant - windows with a view of the water, and a sink in the middle of the room, and the toilet and shower broken off.

"Wow."

"I'm spraying your bed too. I don't trust this place," MJ thoroughly cleansed my bed, "You should have used some of your connections."

"What connections?" I chuckled.

"Pepper Potts, the King or Princess of Wakanda, you're mutant group, or your friend who's running a multi-million dollar company."

"You're one of Harry's best friends too," I laughed, sitting on the bed and feeling much safer doing it thanks to MJ's spray.

"Yeah, but he'd do anything-" MJ cut herself off, picking up her bag and hurrying out of the room.

"He'd do anything, what?" I rushed after her, grabbing my travel bag on the way out the door, "What were you gonna say?"

"Doesn't matter," MJ jumped down the last two steps, "I just know that I may suck at showing emotions, but I can pick them up."

"Stop being cryptic!"

~*~

The supervision was very lax when we were in the city. Our class split into their little groups, either going across the bridge to the market, or sticking close to the tourist attractions near the museum. Either way, I wasn't sure where our teachers were. It was slightly concerning.

On top of that, I lost Peter again, however, MJ was there to take me to different picture spots and name off different morbid facts about Da Vinci or about Venice itself.

"(Y/n)," Harry called me over to a stand. MJ immediately got distracted by an informational stand on Italian true crime, so I left her to her own devices while walking over to Harry, "What do you think? Am I more handsome than ever?"

He held up a green bauta masquerade mask. My body jerked as he did so, and for a split second, it was the Green Goblin beneath that mask. But Harry's low chuckle quickly brought me out of it and I laughed along with him.

"These masks are really cool," I picked up a gold dual crown one with music notes lining the bottom, admiring the attention to detail and fine craftsmanship.

"Quanto?" Harry asked the cashier.

"Cinquanta euro."

Without hesitation, Harry produced the money from his wallet. I didn't even have time to argue before the mask I was holding was in a gift bag and in my hands. Harry was smiling brightly, and I sputtered out some random noises.

"Harry-"

"No refunds," Harry shot me down, "And you can't say it was too expensive because I'm running a company. It's a gift."

Not able to argue, I simply gave Harry a hug. It was then that I noticed Peter coming over the bridge.

"Thank you Harry. I promise I'll buy you something wherever we go next!"

Running through the crowd, I met Peter on the bridge. He himself had a small bag in his hands.

"Boh," I greeted.

"What?"

"Boh. MJ has been saying it non-stop since she learned what it meant."

"What does it mean?"

"It can mean anything," I explained shortly, "Stop, leave me alone, I don't know, shut up. That's why MJ loves it so much. It's rude but doesn't have to be at the same time. What's in the bag?"

"Uh... boh. What about you? What did you get?"

"Oh, Harry bought me a masquerade mask as a present. I'll have to show it to you when we get back to the hotel."

Peter's lips pursed, but he didn't pursue the situation any further, "And MJ and Ned?"

"Ned is off with his new girlfriend, and MJ was at a true crime booth the last time I saw them."

Stepping off the bridge, I immediately took notice of the manhole cover in front of us. The water was draining through it until the street was nearly dry. It wasn't my doing, and I wasn't aware of anything that could do that.

"Peter," I tapped his arm to draw his attention and pointed to the manhole, "Did you see that?"

"The water was draining," Peter muttered quietly.

The water exploded. Peter and I gasped in surprise. That wasn't like any natural phenomena. A screaming Ned and Betty were pushed to shore by the wave in their weird little love boat.

"Go, go," I helped Betty out of the boat, "Peter, help get them to safety, this is my time."

Being as stupid as I was, I left my cuffs in our hotel room. I brought them, but that didn't mean I was paranoid to the point of having them with me at all times. Luckily, Harry had provided me with the perfect disguise. The masquerade mask. I pulled it out of the bag and secured it tightly around my head, entering the fold.

"Oh my god it has a face!" I screamed as I jumped onto the water. It was a... I had no idea what it was, but it was a water monster with a face. Not the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, but boy was it up there.

Lifting my hands towards the beast, I knew I couldn't bend the entire thing. No matter how much I had improved - going from smaller bits of concentrated water, to a pool, to a small pond - I'd never practiced on a large, sentient water being. Still, I attempted to block its attacks on the buildings.

"Shit," I winced when it smashed in half, "Come on!"

But nothing was happening. The water below me was holding me above the waterline, and bits and pieces of the monster was shifting from what I could see, but nothing was happening.

The giant hand came towards me, and I dropped my hold on the water holding me up to go under before it could drown me. Under the water, I yelped when something slammed into my back. Rubble or something else I wasn't sure, but it moved too quickly for me to see clearly.

When I was sure I was safe, I resurfaced. Try number two I used water directly from the river to mix with the water that I apparently couldn't bend. That produced more efficient results, with some warping here or there, but something was still off and I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Hey kid, look out!" Something, or rather someone, in strange armor flew past me. Lasers shot out from their hands and actually hurt the monster in front of me, "Listen, if you can control water then you need to keep the damage away from the buildings!"

If he was dealing actual damage, then I wouldn't argue against his orders. As the monster creates giant whirlpools, I played damage control and kept them contained within the canal borders.

"Excuse me, sir!" That was Peter in a masquerade mask, "I can help! I'm really strong and I'm sticky!"

"I need to lead it away from the canals." The man flew off with a puff of green smoke left behind.

The monster chased after the mysterious hero, and with a grunt I chased after them. Peter was in the surrounding buildings, keeping them together, and I lifted people out of the water as they got dragged in by the force of the monster's attacks.

After having successfully led it away from the canals, I was a little more useless than I cared to admit. Without the ability to control the monster, I was stuck doing what I could in damaging it and keeping civilians out of the way

The mysterious hero opened two portals behind the monsters and used his Mystic Arts like powers to suck the beast in. With one final scream and a twist of his arms, the beast split in half and was destroyed.

"Woo, yeah!" The civilians surrounding the battle site cheered, including our classmates.

Taking it as my cue to leave, I passed through the nearest side alley and used the nearest landmarks to locate where I was and go back to the hotel. I was the first one back, and after packing my mask and changing my clothes, I heard the voices of the rest of the class below.

_Knock knock knock._

Opening the door, a disgruntled MJ and a blearily blinking Peter greeted me. All MJ wanted was a new sweatshirt and Peter sat down on my bed when she left.

"I got hit in the head with a bell twice," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Can you just heal it a little bit?"

Nodding, I pulled some water from the sink and wrapped it around his already damp hair, "How did you get hit twice?"

"I was holding up a bell tower. The first time was because the bell was swinging, and the second because I got pulled forward when it started to fall. Pretty sure I got a concussion from it."

"Ow, you definitely did," I stopped when my head started to ache, "You're better. I don't know what the hell happened, but whatever that thing was I couldn't control it."

"Maybe because it was alive," Peter suggested as we exited the room, "It could control itself so you couldn't control it as well."

"The same could be said about people. But I control them just fine..." It was a morbid reminder, but a logical reason to be confused.

"Buzzfeed says that an underwater engineer got into an accident with a generator and got hydropowers," Flash reported, walking circles around the room.

"Yeah, you should definitely believe everything the internet says," MJ agreed sarcastically.

"Spider-Man and Riptide could take him. I mean, Riptide was born with her powers. What a badass," Flash fanboyed.

The irony was almost painful. Peter got a call from May and walked to the corner to talk to her. I had a few texts from my parents, but it was easy to appease them with some reassurances that everything ended up okay and that no, I didn't know who that new hero was.

"Who is that guy?" Betty asked as a news report went over the events of that day, including footage of the mysterious hero who defeated the monster.

"He's like Iron Man and Thor rolled into one," Brad stated.

"He's alright, but he's no Spidey-Tide." And there was our ship name being used unironically.

"What is it with you and those two?"

"What? They're just awesome okay? They protect the neighborhood, you know? They've inspired me to be a better man," Flash sent Peter a nod when he joined the group again, "What's up dickwad? Thought you drowned."

Again, painful irony.

"Sounds like his name is Mysterio."

"Actually, they're calling him 'man of mystery'. They don't actually know who he is."

"Whoever he is, he saved the city," Harry cut in, "Surprised we haven't heard of him before."

"Mysterio... Cool name," Ned and Betty shared a look, as they spoke in unison, "Babe!"

"Paris tomorrow. Hopefully that will be calmer," Peter chuckled, "What do you think about the Eiffel Tower?"

"Kurt took me up there once. It's a gorgeous few." Peter grinned, and I raised a curious brow, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just cool that you've been to the top before."

"Alright kids, I know it's been an exciting day, but we're leaving for London tomorrow which means we need a good night of sleep. Bedtime!"

Groaning, the class filed up the stairs and broke off into their rooms. I changed into my pajamas and knocked on Peter's door so I could say goodnight.

"Hey Peter, I just wanted to say good-"

"And there's your other half. Hello, Riptide."

Jumping, I spun around to greet Nick Fury. The guy Peter and I had been ghosting for three days. Ned was on the bed with a dart in his neck, a tranquilizer most likely. Nick Fury didn't seem like the type to kill teenagers for no reason. Too much work.

"I saw you two at the funeral but you left pretty quickly. Wanted to enjoy the horrors of high school again?"

"We never graduated so..."

"The important thing is, you're here. I tried to bring you here, you avoided me, and now you're here. What a coincidence."

"Wait... was this a coincidence?"

Fury shrugged, "I used to know everything.Then I come back five years later and now I know nothing. No intel, no team, and two high school kids are dodging my calls. Here's what I do know," Fury placed a hologram on the table, "A week ago a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say the cyclone had a face."

Fury paused when Ned let out a loud snore, the continued.

"Three days later, a similar event in Milano. A village was-"

_Knock knock._

It was Mr. Harrington. Fury leaned back in his chair and pointed his gun at our teacher, who was oblivious to the other man's presence, "Just making the rounds, making sure that no one needs any emotional counseling after today's emotional events."

"No, we're good Mr. Harrington."

"Great, cause I'm not qualified to do that," Mr. Harrington paused when Ned snored, "Oh, he's sleeping. Okay, (Y/n) make sure to get back to your room. No funny business. Goodnight."

He closed the door behind him and Fury began again.

"A village was destroyed by what may well be a world threatening-"

"Hey babe, are you okay? You aren't answering my texts." Betty.

"Uh, he's asleep!" Peter called.

"Already? Okay."

"That's why the appearance of-"

"Hey boy, the water today could have been filled with dangerous bacteria so be sure to..."

"The next person who interrupts me will get shot," Fury growled, "Suit up and meet me outside." 

I left the room and grabbed my cuffs from my suitcase, telling MJ where I was going just in case I got held back for some reason. I snuck past the staff and met Peter and Fury outside on a boat. Tapping my cuffs together, my suit covered my pajamas.

Halfway through the ride, Fury spoke, "Stark left these for you."

"Really?" Peter took the sunglasses case with care.

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Stark said you wouldn't get that because it's not a Star Wars reference," Fury chuckled.

We pulled into a side tunnel and parked. It was a temporary base of operations, with minimal staff moving about and operating it.

"You can take off the masks, everyone here has seen you without them. You'd be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no reason." As directed, Peter and I removed our masks, "There we have Maria Hill. That is Dmitri, and this is Mr. Beck."

It was the mysterious man we'd fought with earlier that day.

"Mysterio?"

"What?"

"Oh, it's just what our friends call you."

"Well, you can call me Quentin," he shook our hands, "You handled yourselves well out there today. We could have used people like you on my world."

"Thanks."

"Your world?"

Fury cut in to explain, "Mr. Beck is from Earth, just not ours."

"There are multiple realities. This is Earth-616. I'm from Earth-833."

"I'm sorry, you're saying there's a multiverse?" Peter's eyes grew wide with excitement, "I thought that was just a theory. I mean, we're talking about a multitude of quantum strings and an endless amount of equations and how does that even work with quantum shifting... Sorry."

"Never apologize for being the smartest in the room," Beck smiled, activating the holo-table in front of us, "They were born in stable orbits and black holes. Creatures formed from the four major elements. Air, water, fire, earth."

In my head I was screaming. It was Avatar, and I was literally Katara.

"They have a scientific name, but we just called them elementals."

"Versions of them exist throughout mythology," Maria changed the picture.

"Turns out the myths are real."

That offered some explanation as to why I couldn't control them. They were larger-than-life beings, sentient beyond any human.

"Like Thor," I offered, "We study him in physics class now."

"These myths are threats."

"They first appeared on my Earth many years ago. We mobilized and fought them, but each time they grew stronger. I was part of the last battalion against them. All we did was delay the inevitable." The image of his world was overcome with fire.

"The elementals are here now. Attacking the same coordinates, our satellites confirm it."

"You can thank Mr. Beck for destroying the other three. There's only one left. Fire."

"The strongest of them all. He destroyed my world... he took my family." Beck twisted a wedding ring on his finger.

"I'm sorry."

"We have one mission. Kill it. And you're coming with us."

"To Prague? I'm sorry, but this all seems like big league stuff. And we're just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and Riptide."

"Bitch please, you've been to space."

"On accident," I corrected.

"Sir, come on there's gotta be somebody else you can use! What about Thor?"

"Off world."

"Doctor Strange?"

"Unavailable."

"Captain Marvel?"

"Don't invoke her name."

"The X-Men?" I offered.

"Their members are scattered on other missions."

Damn. We really were the only heroes available. That didn't mean either of us were happy about it though.

"Sir, we're on thin ice already. If our classmates see us like this after Washington DC then they'll figure out who we are and then... then the whole world will know who we are." Peter had a good point. All the excuses in the world from Harry, MJ, and Ned wouldn't save us from discovery.

Fury's eye narrowed, "Okay. I understand."

"You do?" I was shocked at that. Fury wasn't the type to let things go.

"Yes. Why don't you get back to the hotel before your friends miss you? Dmitri will take you back."

"See ya kids," Beck bid us goodbye.

"Yeah."

As we were walking back to the boat, I leaned in to mutter, "Somehow, I doubt that Fury will leave us alone."


	15. Carnival of Lights

I was proven correct the next morning. The travel company called Mr. Harrington and informed him that we got a 'special upgrade'. Instead of going to Paris, we were going to Prague.

"So you're telling me that we're in an actual Avatar the Last Airbender situation right now and that the fire nation is about to attack?" MJ asked without a hint of humor.

"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you reacted a bit more. Because now we're going right into the war zone."

"Shit," MJ shrugged.

We passed through a sidestreet and came upon a large bus, with Dmitri as the driver. As if my suspicions about who hijacked our vacation weren't strong enough already.

"I told you he wouldn't leave it alone," I nudged Peter's arm as we loaded on.

I took a seat far in the back and Peter sat next to me, still pouting about the fact that our plans had changed so suddenly.

"Look on the bright side, this probably means we'll be staying somewhere nicer," I tried to cheer him up. He managed a smile in return.

We were off. It was an eight and a half hour drive to Prague, which mostly everyone spent either sleeping or on their phones. I was in the middle of a nap at the four-hour mark when Peter started frantically tapping my shoulder.

"What?" I groaned sleepily, jerking back when he shoved a pair of glasses onto my face, "What the hell?"

"It's the glasses Mr. Fury gave to me from Mr. Stark! They have an AI!" Peter explained shortly.

_"Retinal and facial scanning... scanning complete. Hello (Y/n)."_

"Hello?"

_"My name is EDITH, which stands for 'Even dead, I'm the hero'."_

"Of course it does."

_"You have been granted the same access to my systems as Peter Parker. Is there anything you would wish to do right now?"_

"Not really. It was cool to meet you though."

_"Nice to meet you too, (Y/n)."_

I handed the glasses back to Peter, and as I did, the bus rolled to a steady stop in a small traditional town.

"Bathroom," Dmitri announced shortly.

The class ran off of the bus, eager to have a break and stretch their legs. Peter and I were the last ones, and Dmitri held a hand out to stop us. Without words, he motioned to a door in the lodge across from us. A woman stood in the doorway, then walked inside as soon as we noticed her.

We cautiously entered the lodge where the woman was standing and waiting emotionlessly.

"Hello," Peter greeted nervously.

"Close the door." She ordered. Peter did as she ordered. I held out my hand as a greeting, but she didn't take it. Instead, she said "Take off your clothes."

"... What?"

"You told Fury Spider-Man and Riptide can not be seen. So I made you these, new suits," the woman handed each of us a pile of clothes.

"I'm sure it fits," I laughed nervously, holding my pile close to my chest.

"Take off your clothes!"

There was no getting out of it and Peter and I knew it. Reluctantly, he unbuttoned and pulled his jeans down while I pulled my shirt off. Then, the worst thing that could happen happened. The door opened.

"Oh my god!"

"No, no, no," Peter held the woman back as her hand went to her holster.

It was Brad Davis. The guy who'd been pining over MJ the entire school year, and who would sell any of us out in a second if it meant getting closer to her.

"Sorry? Uh, I thought this was the bathroom."

"This isn't what it looks like!"

He took a picture. That bitch took a picture of Peter and I half dressed with a weird woman in a compromising situation! I hurriedly pulled my shirt back on, grabbed our bags, and sprinted out of the lodge to catch up with him.

"Brad!" Peter yelled, just behind us, "It's not what it looks like!"

"Look, I'm not here to judge your life choices," Brad told us when we caught up with him, "If you two want to hook up with some European chick for a threesome-"

"That wasn't what was happening, we swear," I insisted.

"If this is the type of people that MJ is hanging around with, I think she deserves to know." Brad shrugged and walked off.

MJ wasn't the problem. It would be a piece of cake explaining what was going on to her and she'd believe us. The issue was, that he had the picture, and could send it to _anyone_. Our lives would be toast.

"We need to get rid of that picture," I stated the obvious.

"Alright everybody, put your feet together and get back on the bus!" Mr. Dell shouted, regrouping the students.

When we got on the bus again, we were in the front, while MJ and Brad ended up in the back. As soon as we were moving Peter put on his EDITH glasses.

"Edith? Hey, there's this guy named Brad and- Um, Brad Davis, he has a photo of me and (Y/n). Is he a target?" Peter looked to the back, "Yeah, he's a target. He's a target... Initiating what?"

"Peter... you're talking to an AI from the guy who gave you an Instant Kill mode. What do you think she'll take 'he's a target' as?" I asked nervously after he gave the order.

Looking through the back window, I spotted a small drone trailing the bus. There was nothing good about that.

"Hey, dope glasses Parker," Flash snatched the glasses out of Peter's hand, "How did you afford these?'

"Flash give them back."

"No, I'm serious, how did you-"

Peter accidentally slapped Flash, and thanks to his superstrength, he was out cold. While Peter was staring in shock, I grabbed the glasses and put them on.

_"(Y/n), would you like me to cancel the drone strike on Brad Davis?"_

"Did Peter just punch Flash?"

"No!"

_"Understood."_

"Shit," I hissed. That was the wrong question at the wrong time, "Wait, Edith I-"

_Boom!_

Bus swerving after a strike nearly knocked us off the winding road, the glasses flew off my face and landed near the steps. Peter grabbed them.

"Peter, (Y/n), put your butts in your seats and buckle up right now!"

"Look at the baby mountain goats!" I distracted the entire class with that one short statement.

"Baby mountain goats?"

"Shoot it down," I hissed to Peter, pointing at the emergency hatch at the top of the bus.

Peter jumped through the hatch and delivered three webs to the drone, blocking its shooters and making it explode. We were safe.

"I don't see any mountain goats," the class turned back to me as Peter landed back on the bus.

"You- you missed them," I excused.

Betty's eyes narrowed in on Peter, "I know you think none of us have noticed Peter... but your new look, I love it."

Plopping down in my seat again, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's try this again," Peter sat down next to me, "There's a picture on Brad Davis' phone that I need to be deleted. It has (Y/n) and me in it... good. She deleted it."

"Thank god," my body sagged in relief, "That could have been a disaster."

That disaster was only beginning.

~*~

I was right about Fury going all out for our upgraded trip. The hotel Dmitri stopped at was gorgeous and high class, reminding me of the Legacy Castle that Via and Jess got married at.

"Wow, this is so classy."

"I'm home."

"Squeaky wheel gets the upgrade grease," Mr. Harrington was happier than I'd ever seen him, "Get unpacked because tonight, big surprise, we're going to Prague's Carnival of Lights."

Tapping my shoulder, Peter pulled me to the side and held his phone up between us.

"The two of you need to break off from the group, put your new suits on, and wait for further instructions do you understand?"

"Yeah."

As we ended the call, Ned came over to us, "Hey. I am so sorry, if I seem like I'm preoccupied with my relationship-"

"Ned, you're totally okay," we reassured him.

"Okay, great. So what's the status update, where's the attack going to be?"

"Um, here, in the city."

"Guys, we're here!"

I winced in response, "I know, it's not good, but we're working on it."

"Peter, (Y/n), you have to do something, please. We're all counting on you." Well, that was a lot of pressure.

"Babe?"

"Coming," Ned rejoined the group.

Taking Peter's hand, I reveled in the warmth of it, the reassurance. No matter how much pressure was on us to do the right thing and save any number of people, we weren't alone.

Our phones buzzed in unison, directions to a room on the third floor. Some banquet hall. The group was so distracted in their excitement over the festival that we didn't even need to come up with excuses as to why we were running off.

We took the stairs to the room on the third floor, knocked twice, and were ushered in by Maria Hill. The room had become their new base of operations, with the same equipment they had in Venice strewn around in a similar setup.

Fury began to explain the exact coordinates and the plan for that night. Such as our positions and our roles in the battle.

"Parker!" Fury called out Peter's name as he stared into the fire that was actively warming the room, "That thing is going to be here in two hours. Am I boring you?"

"He's not bored, he's just thinking about how you kidnapped him."

"They had options. I removed them."

"They still won't evacuate the city," Maria reported, turning away from a computer.

Fury sighed, "Idiots. So what's the plan Parker?"

"I will be keeping watch for the fire monster and when that shows up I contact you guys and then (Y/n) and Mr. Beck-"

"My name is Mysterio," Beck smiled jokingly.

"Then Mysterio, (Y/n), and I will kill it."

"Right. Understand that the best hope you have, the only hope, is to stop it here and now, no matter what the cost. We'll save as many civilians as we can, but most importantly, keep it away from metal."

"Hey man, our friends our here. And I can't help but worry that we're putting them in danger."

"You're worried about your friends. You? Who called a drone strike on your own school tour bus?" Fury stood and walked towards Peter angrily, "Stark gave you a multi- _billion_ dollar tactical AI system, and what's the first thing you do with it? Try to blow up your friends. It's clear to me, that you were not ready for EDITH."

Peter nodded quietly and muttered a small "I'll be in position." and left. I moved to go after him, but Beck beat me to the punch and assured me he'd talk to him. With someone talking to Peter, I turned to Fury with a scowl.

"What the hell was that Fury?"

"He's a child-"

"We were both twenty-one! Our bodies are different, and Jean maybe have shifted our minds, so we'd fit in, but we know what we're doing! EDITH is new, and scary, and she mistook us asking her to delete a _picture_ for wanting to kill someone. That isn't Peter's fault, and it isn't mine either."

Fury took a menacing step towards me, and while I could understand why everyone in the hero world was terrified of him, I wasn't.

"You better watch your tone, (Y/n)."

He wanted me to back down. I didn't. I wasn't going to. I'd dealt with too many men like him before, men who wanted people to bow down before them. I wasn't going to bow anymore.

"Keep our friends safe, Fury. Or you'll understand what it feels like to lose control," I hissed, stalking out of the room.

As the door closed behind me, a thrum of power flowed through me. I did it. Oh god it felt so good to finally stand up to someone. Fury wasn't Thanos, he was _so_ much better than Thanos, but when he yelled at Peter, it was the same type of superiority in his eyes that I saw in Thanos', and I wouldn't stand for it.

"Oh, (Y/n), I was wondering where you ran off to. You're in room 34, just down the hall," Mr. Harrington informed me, "MJ put your stuff in there for you."

"Thanks, Mr. Harrington."

I met the rest of the class in the lobby downstairs. They were decked out in anything and everything related to the Carnival of Lights. Peter was there. I grabbed his hand and gave him a small smile. He gave one in return. Beck must have given him a nice talk if he was still in good spirits.

"Good news," Mr. Harrington approached the group, "There's been a change of plans. We're going to the opera!"

"Wasn't me," Mr. Dell added when the group frowned.

"What happened to the carnival?" MJ asked, I nudged her, and mouthed 'hero stuff' and she nodded.

"This is upgraded living guys. Come on, the tour company gave us these tickets for free. Do you have any idea how much opera tickets cost?"

"No, because none of us have ever wanted to go to the opera."

"Well, I-I think it would be a nice cultural experience," Ned defended the plan, having picked up on the importance of being out of the city.

"Thank you, Ned."

"Yeah, and at a festival this large, the probability of picking up a deadly foreign disease is high," MJ added.

"Slightly more morbid, but still good. Everyone change and let's get going!"

The group let out groans of annoyance and broke up to go to their rooms. Peter and I were next to each other, and we changed into the formal clothes we were instructed to pack for the trip and also packed our suits in our backpacks so we could change into them when we were called into action.

When the entire group was ready for the opera, our teachers led us into the streets where the people were already celebrating the carnival as the sun set. The group was dismayed and watched the party goers pass them sadly as they had to walk away from the main celebration.

"See?" Mr. Harrington shouted over the music, "Aren't you happy that we got out of this?"

No one had an answer for that. As we reached the opera house, we worked out our excuses with MJ and Ned, and right after we did, Maria contacted us over the coms and ordered us to get into position.

We changed into our uniforms in the bathroom, and Peter webbed our backpacks to an alleyway so we wouldn't lose them.

"Okay, I'll see you soon," I kissed him quickly, "We can do this, okay?"

"Yeah, everything will be fine. Our Earth won't end up like Beck's. I love you."

"I love you too Bug-Boy."

It was like going off to war. Scratch that, we _were_ going off to war. I got into position away from the buzz of the festival, but close enough that if something were to happen, I'd be on the scene quickly. I wasn't sure where Beck was hiding out, but I knew he had to be near.

_"Alright, I'm in position. If I see something Beck, I'll let you know."_

"I'm in position too, waiting for the attack."

_"Roger. How's the suits?"_

"It's a weird color, and I don't have hair," my mask was similar to Peter's in the sense that it covered my entire head. Weird.

_"Fits great. Little tight around the ol' web shooter."_

_"Parker."_

_"Sorry."_

Not even a minute later, Fury and Maria were reporting that energy was spiking and seismic activity was raising. Peeking around the corner, I ran into the fold as the first bit of lava broke through the ground. I couldn't control the water one, but I didn't have to control the fire to damage it. Just put it out.

"Everyone run!" I yelled to the civilians around me, not that they needed to be told twice.

Beck landed, Peter swung in, and the fight began. Both assisting me and using it as a weapon himself, Peter pulled a fire hydrant out of the ground, releasing a steady stream of water. I directed it towards the monster. It screamed and steamed in response. So it was working.

The monster stumbled back and into a carousel. Metal. The monster seemed to smirk and absorbed the carousel, growing in size. I ran over to Peter, keeping as much water as possible around me so I could use it.

"Night Monkey! Water Girl!"

"Huh?"

Peter and I looked up at the ferris wheel. Betty and Ned, seriously? They were supposed to be safe at the opera.

"Help us!"

"Help them out, I'll help Beck!" I ran towards the monster, throwing my arms out and sending a spray of water its way. Unlike the previous time, the water did nothing. Not even a little puff of steam, "What the hell?"

"(Y/n), go help the civilians!" Beck ordered, flying past me.

"I can help, it's water against fire!"

"I said go help with the civilians. I got this. I'm not going to repeat myself," Beck's voice took on a dark tone.

Frowning at the sudden shift, I obeyed. What was going on? My powers worked then they didn't, then Beck became the only one who could save us? I understood that he had previous experience, but it was _water_ vs _fire._

"Bug-Boy, tag team!" I yelled at Peter, "Hit him with something he can't absorb!"

"Got it!"

I stepped up to the control panel for the ferris wheel, rapidly pressing the button that made it go, but nothing was working. I pressed it again and again, each time more frantic than the last. Nothing. Swearing, I looked up at the wheel. I could use water to lift everyone, but that would take too much time-

"Look out!"

I screamed and jumped to the side when a giant shot of lava destroyed the control panel completely. Well shit. Not that it would have worked, anyway.

"Water-Girl, we need you."

"Oh, so you need me now?" I asked bitterly, but ran over all the same.

Using whatever water I could muster, I shot for the monster's chest. It hit its mark, and the monster screamed, steam rising. It worked. What was going on?

"It's not enough!" Beck yelled as the monster backed into scaffolding, growing even larger, "Whatever happens, remember me."

"Beck, what are you doing?" Peter asked in a panic.

"What I should have done the first time."

Beck summoned a large amount of green energy and rammed straight into the monster's chest. It glowed bright green and fell apart from the inside. I was relieved it was over, but something twisted in my gut. That was all it took? Why didn't one of the soldiers from his platoon do what he did?

"Beck?" Peter ran over to Beck who was lying on the ground.

"Everyone down," I formed an ice slide connected to each section of the ferris wheel that would allow the civilians to get out safely since the fight was done. When they seemed to be doing fine, I walked over to the main group.

"That was the last one," Beck stated.

"But not the last threat we'll ever face. We need to stay vigilant. There's a void in this world for someone like you. Hill and I are going to EuroCo headquarters in Berlin tomorrow. You should join us."

"Thank you. I just might take you up on that."

Fury then turned to Peter and I, and I prepared for a scolding.

"You got gifts kids, but you didn't want to be here."

"Mr. Fury-"

"I'd love to have you in Berlin too. But you got to decide whether or not you're willing to step up. Stark chose you, he made you Avengers. I need that. The world needs that. But maybe Stark was wrong. Was he? The choice is yours."

I knew Peter needed comfort, not for me to kick Fury's ass, and so I held back my anger. Beck stood and gave us a smile.

"Let's get a drink."

"We aren't twenty-one anymore."

The nearest bar had milk and lemonade luckily, so we weren't stuck drinking alcohol. I wouldn't have either way. I hadn't since Peter and I had our talk about my issue with it.

"You kids did good today."

Peter sighed, "Fury was right. Maybe I'm not ready to be an Avenger."

"I was never really an Avenger in the first place," I added.

"Mr. Stark wanted me to be better than he was. Fury just wants me to live up to his name."

"What do you two want?" Beck asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want?"

"I wanna go on my trip. I wanna go back on my trip with my friends and spend time with (Y/n) because I love her." Beck pulled a teasing face, "Shut up man."

"What about you, (Y/n)?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I want to do the right thing, and I want to be normal. I want to, to have a _taste_ of being able to go on vacation without being a superhero at the same time, but I want to save lives... but we have an obligation."

"Excuse me? I think you dropped these?" A woman picked the EDITH glasses up off the ground and handed them to Peter.

"Oh my god, thank you so much."

"Are those-"

"The EDITH glasses yeah."

"Try them on, let's see what you look like."

Peter put them on, "I actually really like them."

"Can I be honest? They look really stupid. But maybe they have a contact version."

"Okay, you try them on then," Peter took them off and held them out.

"No, I couldn't-"

"Try them on," I encouraged.

With a sigh, Beck put them on. Peter's face paled, and my mind went blank. I knew both of us saw the same thing in Beck. Tony Stark. But I blinked, and the illusion was gone. Peter, Peter's gaze was still hazy.

"For the next Tony Stark, I trust you," he muttered, eyes widening in realization, "For the next Tony Stark I trust you."

"I'm not following, how many lemonades have you had?"

"Tony knows every mistake I ever made right? So he must have known I wasn't ready for that glasses. Be he trusted me to know who was."

"Peter," my brows furrowed.

"He wouldn't have given them to Fury because he would have kept them. He gave them to me because I do what's right. The world needs a next Iron Man, and it's not gonna be me, I'm a sixteen-year-old kid technically. And it can't be (Y/n) because she's the same way."

"Ouch, but I agree." I hated to say it, but Peter wasn't ready. He had growing to do. Whether it took a day or a year, there was something he had to realize. I didn't know what it was, because I was in the same boat. And Beck reminded Peter of Tony so much... I didn't want to take that away from him.

"Peter, you don't know what you're saying. No," Beck gave the glasses back.

"EDITH? I'd like to transfer control to Quentin Beck," Peter put the glasses on.

"Stark gave _you_ the glasses-"

"Stark gave me a choice," Peter insisted.

"And you agree with this, (Y/n)?"

"I trust Peter with my life. What he does, I do, and vice versa. Can I really say no?" The answer was yes, but I wasn't about to do that, "You saved us and the world from those things."

"Confirm," Peter gave Beck the glasses, "Welcome to the Avengers."

Beck put the glasses on again and Peter smiled, "Thank you Peter. You too (Y/n), something tells me you've got him on a leash."

"That's an understatement," I chuckled, shaking his hand when he offered it, "We should probably get back to the hotel, Peter. We still need to grab our bags and change too."

"Right. Mr. Stark would have liked you Beck. See you later, man."

Peter and I left hand in hand, and for a second, I could forget my weird gut feeling and focus on the fact that both of us were relieved and happy for the first time in months.


	16. All an Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of quarantine and the boredom I'm sure we all feel, I'll be updating this story more!

**Quentin Beck**

Beck watched the young pair walk away from the bar, the illusion of a bar full of people fading around him until all that was left was his co-workers and the drones they'd used to achieve their goal.

"See, that wasn't so hard." He shrugged with a giggle. The group cheered in response, "Somebody get this stupid costume off me!" Victoria rushed to pull the fake armor off and set it aside. He handed the glasses off, "Get that into our system."

"Toast, toast, toast, toast!" The group cheered.

"This is a big win but we've still got a lot of work to do," Beck dismissed, but the group insisted. Grinning, he stepped onto the counter, "Okay, toast! Give me that, Doug." He took a bottle of champagne, "To our former employer, Tony Stark!"

The crowd booed and sneered at the name, "The Jester King, literally wrapped in wealth and technology that he was unfit to wield. Like the holographic system I designed, with limitless uses that Tony saw fit to use as a therapy machine that he renamed Barf. He renamed my life's work Barf, then he fired me and said I was unstable. To Tony."

"To Tony!"

"Next, to William. The integration of my illusion tech with your weaponized drones was brilliant. Powerful illusions, real damage, worked like a charm, and it's just the beginning... To Guderman. The story you created about a man named Quentin fighting space monsters is totally ridiculous, and just the kind of thing people will believe right now. I mean, everybody bought it!"

"Woo!"

"To Victoria, staging electromagnetic pulses at each attack site so Fury's own satellites would confirm it. Genius. To Janice. After Tony died, she was the one who found out that EDITH was being handed over not to us, not to the defense department, but to a child."

"Thank you!"

"And finally, a thanks to the man who contacted us and brought us all together. The mastermind behind this, and our benefactor. Harry Osborn. He couldn't be here tonight, but he's with us in devious spirit. Now, he gave us strict instructions not to harm Riptide, but if worse comes to worst, accidents happen."

"To Harry!"

"Nowadays, you can be the smartest person in the room, but no one will listen unless you have a cape or are shooting lasers our of your hands. Well, I've got a cape, and I shoot lasers. With our technology, with you, Mysterio will be the greatest hero on Earth. And everyone will listen! Not to a boozy man-child. Not to two teenagers. But to me, and to our lovely team. To us. To Mysterio!"

"Mysterio!"

"To Peter Parker!"

"Peter Parker!"

"And to (Y/n) (L/n)!"

"(Y/n) (L/n)!"

Beck smirked, "Poor kids. Let's get to work."

**(Y/n) (L/n)**

Peter and I picked up our backpacks and changed back into our normal clothes. Despite the persistent ache in my gut, the warning that _something_ however small was off, we were in bright spirits. A weight was off of Peter's shoulders, and I was happy because he was happy.

"Do you want to stop at the hotel and drop our backpacks off then go on a walk?" Peter questioned, "This vacation has kind of sucked and I want to spend some time with you."

"You didn't even have to ask, Bug-Boy. We deserve some date time."

Both of us hurried to the hotel and took the stairs two at a time to our rooms. I grabbed a jacket to wear over my dress, and when I stepped out, MJ was waiting for me with a metal object in her hands.

"What's that?" I pointed to the strange device with Peter's webs on it.

"I followed you guys to the battle sight and when you guys were fighting, this flew by me. I don't know what it is, but I figured you would know and would want to figure it out since it's related to those monsters."

"Wow, that's weird," I took the object and gingerly put it in my purse, "Thanks. I'll uh, I'll show it to Peter and we'll figure it out."

MJ nodded and retreated back to her room. Walking out, Peter approached me with a smile and we left the hotel to walk around the city. The Carnival had long since ended because of the attack, so the streets were quiet. Peter seemed to have a destination in mind as he was leading the way.

"Peter I need to be honest, something has been bugging me about this," the bad feeling in my stomach reached a fever point as I thought about the thing MJ gave me, "Sometimes I was attacking those things and it did nothing. Not like it was powerful and could resist them, but my water just went straight through them. And then Beck yelled at me like he didn't want me to keep going, and when he called me back it worked. Like... like the monster had to prepare to react to my attacks."

Peter's brows furrowed in confusion, "What are you trying to say?"

"Something is off Peter. I know you look up to Beck, and he reminds you so much of Tony, but you have to feel it too. God, I should have told you this before you gave him EDITH. Also, MJ gave me this," I pulled out the metal piece, "She said that she got it during the battle. You pulled it off the monster."

When I was passing it to Peter both of our hands slipped and it fell to the ground. We jumped back when a loud roar rang out, and a monster similar to the others appeared. A hologram, illusion.

"Holy shit," I whispered. I was right, something was off, and I'd allowed Peter to pass EDITH off to the man who'd coordinated it all.

"Oh my god," Peter marvelled, face paling under the light of the monster as it faded away, "You were right- and I gave him EDITH. I trusted him!"

"He's going to Germany to meet Fury. We have to tell him what's going on. I'll text him and tell him to meet us at the train station. Then we can figure all this out and get EDITH back."

Taking off in a sprint, we soon arrived at the hotel. I sent a quick and panicked text to Fury explaining that he had to meet us at the train station or a lot of people would be in trouble.

"Woah, who's hair is on fire?" MJ followed after us as we ran to our rooms, waiting in mine while I frantically changed into my Water Girl uniform.

"It's that thing you gave us. It was hologram tech. Mysterio has been faking everything the whole time so he can come in and look like a hero, and now we need to go to Germany to meet Nick Fury and hopefully take Mysterio down," I explained in one big breath.

As I pulled the mask on, Peter ran in with Ned hot on his heels. Ned probably wandered into Peter's room like MJ had mine, and Peter had explained everything to him as well. I had never been more thankful that we trusted them enough to know our secrets. It would be hell trying to lie all the time without them to back us up.

"MJ, call my parents and have them tell Mr. Harrington that my old private school was doing a trip here, and I was invited to stay as an honorary guide. Do something with my luggage, I don't care what as long as it's safe."

"Got it."

"All of you are really good at lying," Harry leaned against the doorframe, "You left the door open. You two suck at being sneaky. What's going on?"

"Mysterio has been faking everything, and we need to stop him," I explained shortly, pushing Peter towards the window. The last thing we needed was Peter and Harry butting heads while we were on such an intense time crunch.

Harry shot forward like a bullet and grabbed my hand, "You know he's faking it?"

"You act like you've known all along," I frowned.

"No, that's not what I meant. But if all he's doing is trying to make a name for himself, maybe you should just leave it alone."

"Harry, you know I can't do tha-"

"Please, just leave it." Harry's grip tightened to the point of pain. Wincing, I pulled my hand away.

"I can't, Harry. I'll see you once the trip is over. Wish us luck."

Meeting Peter at the window, he wrapped an arm around my waist and swung out, leaving our three friends behind to take care of our excuses.

~*~

It took an exhausting amount of time to get to the main train station in Berlin. When we got there, civilians darted out of the way to avoid us as we ran to the main entrance. Fury obviously had eyes on us because as soon as we were out of the sliding doors, a black car pulled up.

Peter in the passenger seat and me in the back, we fought to be heard over the other as we tried to explain what had been going on. Fury held up a hand as he pulled out of the station and got on the road.

"Wait until we're in a secure location," he prompted.

So, we waited in anxious silence until Fury finally stopped in front of a white, official seeming building. We jumped out of the car and hurried up several flights of steps into an office. There, Hill was waiting for us.

"Beck has been faking everything," Peter started.

"He's been using illusion tech," I slid the metal piece across the table, "And made up the story about being from a different Earth."

"All so he could make a name for himself as a hero. And we gave him EDITH before we knew all this, so he has access to everything that she does."

Thinking things over, Fury and Hill shared concerned looks. After a few seconds of silence, Fury said "This is... concerning. All of us are in danger if this gets out, because whatever equipment he's using has been causing _real_ damage. Have you told anyone else?"

I opened my mouth to answer but Peter put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me. Giving him a quizzical look, he said "It's Beck, he's here."

At that, the entire official room disappeared. Everything was another illusion, and we played right into it.

Peter got blown one way, and I got blown the other. One of our illusions was planned to the T, because Beck couldn't physically be with both of us at the same time.

"So smart, (Y/n), figuring things out. I got to say, you're one stubborn girl. Look at you... how does it feel? Living while he's dead?"

Both Tony and Thanos appeared before me, voices void of expression. I could feel the cold coming off of their bodies. Dead. I backed away until hitting something- a scarecrow made of armor that I only saw in my nightmares.

"Except, you don't know which one I'm talking about, do you?"

The floor collapsed beneath me, and I yelped in pain when I landed on my back. Around me was water, and I was lying on top of it.

"Doesn't the guilt eat you alive? Do you feel like you're _drowning_ in it?"

Waves splashed around me as the water rose rapidly. Logically, I knew there was no water, so I gathered water from the air and threw my arms out in a widespread ice attack. A metallic clank rang out, and for a moment, I was in a bare building. Reality was short lived as another drone swooped in and replaced the one that was lost.

"Can't you swim, (Y/n)?" Beck's voice continued on, and the water became rough, "Or is someone weighing you down?"

A hand on each foot; Tony and Thanos. Crying out, I dropped to the ground. A small castle rose up behind me, and I screamed when a giant goldfish passed in front of me. Running forward, I was met with glass. Mysterio's helmet.

"What are you gonna do? Bloodbend?" The water turned to blood, "Use my body against my will? Embrace the monster you try so hard to repress?"

Slamming against the glass, I gasped when he lifted the helmet off his head and dropped it on the ground. When the helmet shattered, I was in the sky. Panting heavily, I looked around for some form of escape.

_Bzzzzzz._

Screaming in shock, I stared at the giant mosquito in front of me. They sucked blood; I controlled it. I understood what he was going for, and I hated it.

"So much blood, just for you, (Y/n)."

Shaking my head desperately, the giant bug stiffened, jerking around in the air as if it was a puppet on strings. Swallowing down bile, I screamed again when the bug exploded and soaked my clothes with blood. Not real, not real, not real.

A cemetery. Rows and rows of graves surrounded me. The blood was gone.

"You killed him. And he's not the only one. How many graves do you see?" The rows never ended, going as far as the eye could see. They moved past me, speed rising until it reached a crescendo and they were nothing but blurs around me. Finally, when I felt ready to throw up, the graves disappeared. All but two.

Tony Stark.

Peter Parker.

"What-"

"Don't you see? You killed him (Y/n). Because you were _weak_."

A hand burst out of the ground and I screeched. Out of it came Tony. Broken, bloody and burned. Exactly what he looked like when he died.

"Does Morgan know what you did?" He asked, raspy, "What would she say if she found out _you killed me_?"

"No!" I insisted.

"(Y/n)?" Morgan was there. Sweet little Morgan who was as smart as her father and as understanding as her mother, "Is it true?"

"Morgan I-"

"You killed my daddy?"

"Morgan _listen!_ "

"You killed him," she sobbed, falling to her knees. I ran over to comfort her, but she was gone in a _poof_ of smoke.

Tony's grave was gone, but Peter's remained. It grew taller, and taller, until it loomed over me.

"Tony died because you were weak." There was a source to his voice now. Beck chose to follow me, and I could pinpoint where he was because of it.

It was ahead of me, and there was light and I could see him all smug. But there was something else next to him-

"And Peter will die because you were too slow."

Beck grabbed Peter by the neck. Yelling out, I sprinted towards them. Closer and closer until-

"You lose."

Nothing was beneath my feet. I'd been so distracted that I missed sensing my surroundings. In the air I flipped over and for a moment, I could see Beck above me and the world as it was. Cruel, unfair, and Peter wasn't there to hold my hand. I was alone.

I landed. So soon I couldn't react. The cement was unforgiving, and the speed and height from which I fell didn't help either. Luckily, it felt like my spine was only fractured, which meant I wouldn't be paralyzed. However, because of that, all feeling left my body.

"Beck," a voice from above- and it was then that I realized my eyes were closed, "I'm below for cleanup, throwing her in the river."

How poetic that my element would be my death.


	17. X-Venger

Everything hurt.

I was acutely aware of the sharp throb that stabbed through every nerve in my body in a unique way each time for each one. But I couldn't scream, or even fight against the force that was pulling me out of the water. Did I even want to fight if they were saving my life? The answer was unclear, and I wasn't able to form concrete thoughts as I was shifted and wanted nothing more than to scream and cry.

"What happened to her?" I was moved to what felt like a table. Cold and straight beneath me. It felt nice.

"I don't know. What I _do_ know is that we need the medical center to be ready as soon as we arrive or we're going to have some problems. I'm doing what I can now, but I'm not as experienced as the other doctors. Inform my brother what's going on."

"Understood, Princess."

Princess? I didn't know a lot of Princesses besides one- Shuri! If it was actually her, and the whole scenario wasn't how I was supposed to enter the afterlife, then there was no one better suited to heal me.

"Brain waves spiking showing an increase in activity. (Y/n), if you can hear me, know that you're going to be alright. I'll be putting you under soon to prep for surgery, just allow it to happen and trust that you're in good hands."

A mask over my face, Shuri counting backwards in Wakandan, and I was out again.

~*~

When I woke up again I felt marginally better. Sure, there was still that residual ache from sore muscles and the numerous bruises coating my body, but I could move. Groaning, I forced my eyes open. I was in the Wakandan med-bay. Or... it looked like I was.

"(Y/n)! Holy shit you're awake-" Shuri ran towards me excitedly, but an ice dagger to the throat cut her off. I surprised myself with my own self-preservation instincts, but I couldn't take any chances.

"I thought you were bae," she yelled out in shock, "Turns out you're just fam."

Sighing in relief I returned the water to the air. Mysterio couldn't mimic Meme Princess Shuri™, that was a privilege only her friends and family could enjoy. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see a friendly face."

"I love you, and I'm concerned, but what the hell?" Shuri checked my vitals on her holo-pad.

"Sorry. The guy Peter and I are up against creates these massive illusions. It's how he made me fall out of a building. Then one of his goons threw me in a river- how did you find me, by the way?"

"Your AI. I'm an emergency contact since I'm the one who made it, and I got a notification that you're vitals were at extremely dangerous levels. And before you worry too much, I used as much pull as I could to track down Peter. Facial recognition put him on a train, then in the Netherlands. He's alive. Doesn't look good, but alive."

My heart leapt up to my throat. I hadn't even considered the fact that Beck would have tried to kill Peter as well, but he did, and Peter survived, "Oh... how long have I been here?"

"Overnight. You had a comminuted ankle, tibia, and wrist. A severe concussion, cracked skull, and trauma to your spine. Thanks to my tech and vibranium implants it should heal relatively quickly and feel okay since the bones have been substituted, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it. You were dying, (Y/n)."

"I thought I'd drown."

"You were submerged for five minutes. The modifications Thanos gave you saved your life-"

I chuckled humorlessly, "That's not what I need to hear right now."

"And what is? You look awful (Y/n), not just because of the injuries. Your brain scan wasn't great either, showed signs of PTSD and depression." That wasn't a surprise.

"I don't know Shuri, maybe it's because I've been useless?" I snapped, _finally_ having reached my breaking point, "I knew something was off but didn't do anything because _I've_ been off. And I've been wallowing in guilt over killing Tony even though I logically know it wasn't my fault! In the end, all of this shit is just one big identity crisis because I want to be normal, but I'm a daughter of Thanos and he literally changed me forever. And everyone says I'm an Avenger but I can't let go of the X-Men, but neither of them are _me_!"

Breathing heavily, I lifted a shaky hand to wipe away my tears. That was it. Everything I'd been too scared to say in therapy screamed out in two minutes. I'd been beaten, bruised, and shot, and therapy had put a bandaid over it because I refused to be truly honest.

All because admitting everything would make it too real. It was stupid, and cliche, but I was terrified and traumatized and only saying the bare minumum for therapy as if it'd fix _everything_.

"Right..." Shuri blinked slowly, "Give me a minute." Shuri left in a hurry.

An irrational part of me said I scared her off, but Shuri bounded back into the room quickly enough to dissuade those thoughts. She handed me a holo-pad, already cued up with a call.

"I thought about calling Xavier or Nebula, but in the end, no one can cut the bullshit and tell you the truth better than them."

Shuri tapped the pad to pull up the picture and I gasped.

"Mom, Dad."

My parents smiled, and for the first time I could see the strain on them. The age beyond their years the hero world had caused them. That _I_ had caused them. But they were still smiling as if it didn't matter. They'd supported me through everything, accepted my mutation, and were always the brights points of my life. Yet my world had shifted from revolving around my family to revolving around the hero world, and that was my mistake.

 _"Hey honey,"_ Mom greeted.

_"Before we say anything, we want you to know how proud we are. We always have been, and always will be."_

"Thanks," I whispered, sniffling. It was an emotional day.

 _"(Y/n), if you want to come home, enjoy the rest of your summer, and retire while allowing Mysterio to rise and be recognized as a hero, then we'll help you look at colleges,"_ my mom soothed, _"And if you want to fight, and go against what feels like the world, then we're going to be cheering you on and celebrate when you get home."_

"But I don't _know_ what I want to do!" I groaned in frustration.

 _"You do,"_ my dad smiled, a hint of sadness there, _"Let me tell you something. You are our daughter, a mutant, an X-Venger, but more than anything, you're a fighter. You kick ass anywhere, not just criminals!"_

Grinning, a laugh bubbled in my chest. Shuri was right. More than any long-winded inspirational speech about doing the right thing and proving myself to be more than Thanos' daughter, I needed no bullshit. I needed reassurance that even though I was Riptide, Riptide wasn't _me_.

 _I_ was me. I chose who I wanted to be and I had no obligations to stay that way. And no fake hero was going to make me weak.

"I'm an X-Venger. I'm a hero. And I'm going to kick Mysterio's ass!"

_"You go queen!"_

"Mom, Dad, I love you, thank you!"

I ended the call there and looked to a bouncing Shuri, obviously ready to get moving. Not even giving me the chance to ask, she started turning off the machines and carefully removed my IVs.

"I have something cool to show you" she squealed, "Oh, first, it'll take some time to get used to the vibranium implants. Because it's highly adaptable and because we've adjusted Helen Cho's skin recreating tech, there's no need for months of physical therapy. However, there may be some surgical site pain so you'll want this."

Frowning when Shuri pulled an old fashioned walker, I reluctantly stepped out of bed and took hold of the handles. Cautiously, I stepped down. Slight twinges from my leg and wrist but that was it.

"I love this place," I hurried after the princess. If it was any normal surgery, I would be out of commision for months and would be stuck in physical therapy. Thanks to the advanced tech of Wakanda, combined with Helen Cho's, I only needed a walker.

Into an elevator and then a cruiser, we finally stopped at her lab at the outskirts of the capitol city. It was another race to the back, where she pulled out a mannequin modeling a new costume. The design was already appealing. The colors were my classic, it was sleek, and yet I could see the armor beneath.

"You can't wear that horrendous costume that we rescued you in. Not only was it destroyed but it was hideous. Water Girl," Shuri scoffed in disgust, "Actually, I can't take any credit for this suit. Tony Stark made it for you."

"He did?" I ran a hand across the chestplate. Matte metal.

"Yes. Happy delivered it two weeks ago so I could finish it. It had all the tech and outlining complete, but it lacked vibranium."

"Wow," I whispered. Tony left me something. Just like how he left Peter EDITH. He left both of us more money than we could spend in a lifetime, but there was something so much more personal about something he made for _you_.

"Misty, transfer to (Y/n)."

The suit climbed up the hand that was on it and completely covered my body. It was lightweight, comfortable, and overall amazing. The nano-tech Tony ingrained was flawless. The screens hovering around my vision were new, but I'd get used to them.

"The belt is custom," Shuri rolled out a mirror so I could see myself.

The X-Men 'X' through the Avengers 'A'. It was Tony who coined X-Venger after all. My heart filled with warmth as I stared at my logo. Tony understood. He knew that I wouldn't want to choose between the X-Men and Avengers, and rather than choose for me, he chose to understand.

_"Congratulations (Y/n), you unlocked the Tsunami Protocol. You have been granted the same liberties as Peter has with EDITH. Additionally, I have the ability to use the nanotech within the suit to condense it into an inconspicuous object. Tony prefered a watch, but I have several other options in my inventory."_

"That's amazing Misty, thank you. Oh, speaking of which, I need you to track EDITH's location. Shuri, you can create a secure line to talk to Happy, right?"

"Bitch, who do you think I am?" Shuri ran over and plopped down in her desk chair. Two seconds later she had Happy on FaceTime.

"Happy! The line is secure, don't worry. Is Peter there?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Happy showed Peter working in the back, _"Want me to get him? He's been freaking out about you. He cried a little too."_

"No, I'd rather see him in person. Tell him I'm alive though, and with Shuri."

_"Edith located in London."_

"Are you headed to London?"

_"Yeah, Mysterio is apparently after some of your classmates so I'm gonna pick them up and take them to a safe location. We'll see you there, right?"_

"You know it. Be there soon."

Shuri stopped the call and pushed off, rolling to another monitor in her chair, "I'm sorry but we don't have soldiers to spare. It's been a very busy week as the summer is starting."

"I understand Shuri, all I need is a ship to get there."

"You'll be there in an hour. Kick some ass. Oh, and text me!"

"Could I ever escape you?"

"Nope. You can't ghost me like Nick Fury."


	18. It's My Choice

On the plane, primed and ready for battle, I asked Misty to contact Peter as a news report about the attack on London was playing in the background.

_"(Y/n), oh thank god you're okay! Happy told me that you were alive but that didn't mean that you weren't hurt or-"_

"Peter, I'm okay I promise," I laughed lightly, checking my arrival time. I would wait to tell him about almost drowning and my vibranium bone replacements, "Where are you now?"

_"Oh um, I'm in the middle of the illusion trying to take it down. Are you on your way?"_

"I see the city," I announced, pressing the button that would begin the landing in the closest secure area, "Do you have the illusion under control? What do you need me to do?"

_"He's after MJ, Ned, Harry, and Betty. Happy said that he would take care of them, but I just want to make sure that nothing happens to them and that they get away safe."_

"Got it. Misty start a track on the group. I'll get them to safety and then I'll join you and we can take Beck down, okay? I love you."

"See you there. I love you too."

The jet landed in an alley just outside of the danger zone. I enabled cloaking so there wasn't any chance of Beck finding it, and followed Misty's directions to my friends, doing my best to ignore the vast damage that was happening around me.

_"They've entered the royal vault. I detect four drones surrounding them, armed and extremely dangerous. Tony's drones."_

"Shit," I hissed to myself, stepping around broken glass and displaced exhibits.

Stopping just before the entrance to the vault room, I listened for any signs of the drones. There was a faint whirring and hissing. When I peeked out, I saw that they were lasering through the vault door.

"Okay, okay. Peter's going against an army of these things. I got this. Misty, activate Instant Kill Mode."

_"Instant Kill Mode activated."_

The precision blades popped up on my arms, sharper than before. Close range and long range, I see you Tony. Pushing down my nerves and the knowledge that one shot from them would equal death, I pushed myself off the wall and ran into the room.

The drones stopped their lasering and turned to me. Before they could even prime their chargers, my masks' screen had a target locked onto them and I was shooting. Once, twice, three times, until the drones were nothing but smoking piles of metal.

Panting, I knocked on the door, "Happy, it's me Riptide. You're safe."

"Tell us something only Riptide would know!" MJ yelled back. Smart, that was why we were friends.

"Okay, um... Happy you have this thing going on with Spider-Man's aunt, MJ I saved your cat once, um, you picked Spider-Man up in the Netherlands- I got it! Happy you used to hate Spider-Man but you've grown to love him and now you see him as your responsibility!"

The door swung open. Happy's face was red, either from embarrassment or rage, I didn't have time to find out. MJ, Ned, and Betty were panicked as they should have been, Harry was frowning, and Flash was there too, live streaming. Douchebag.

"Oh good," I sighed in relief, "Happy I have a jet but I don't think it's safe yet. I need to help Spider-Man, so stay here out of sight, close the door again if you have to. Flash, I swear if keep live streaming I will track you down."

"Riptide knows my name," Flash completely disregarded my threat.

Rolling my eyes, I stated "I'll let you know when it's safe to leave. Be. Careful. I don't need you getting hurt because I left."

Trusting the group to handle themselves now that they were out of immediate danger, I also made sure to check the perimeter as I was leaving. All the drones in the area were down for the count because of the guards in the area. If Peter and I dealt with Beck fast enough, then they'd be safe no matter what.

_Boom!_

That was Peter. Following the source of the explosion led me to a bridge, and on it was Peter. Around him was the remains of a platoon of drones.

"Bug-Boy," I ran to him, "I want this to be a really cute reunion but Beck will probably kill us if we do that."

"You're right," Peter nodded, looking at the overpass above.

"I got this."

Using water from the river on either side of us, I wrapped us in it and propelled us into the air so quickly that we slammed through the glass flooring in front of Beck and each of us delivered a punch before he could react. It felt good to finally punch him.

"You're lies are over Beck," Peter picked him up by the front of his suit and held him in the air.

"Well, this certainly isn't ideal, but I have contingencies. EDITH?"

A sonic blast hit both of us and blew us across the overpass. Groaning in pain, Peter and I quickly recovered.

"Just give us the glasses," Peter sighed, hand over his ribs.

"You want this?" Beck held up the glasses, "Come and get 'em."

At least ten drones flooded the hallway. Peter looked to me, "I have my Peter Tingle, but you-"

"Thanos tricked my mind, and Beck did the same thing. I don't have your senses, but I know an illusion. Especially now that I've seen Beck's."

That was enough for him. The entire hallway went dark, and we were left to our own instincts to survive. Closing my eyes, I listened, and felt. A swoosh of air behind me, and I swung out and used my precision blades to stab one of the drones straight through. Vibranium, who knew? The next one came from the side, and the charge of its blaster was my cue. I shot it with an ice dart. The third and fourth ones were in front and behind simultaneously. Throwing my hands out, their systems were flooded with water.

The last one hit me with a sonic boom, and I hit the metal siding of the overpass. Swinging my hands up I formed a little ice bubble that blocked the first shot. When it went in for the second, it was on the ground, imploding from ice in its gun.

The darkness disappeared, and Peter was right next to me, alive and unharmed just like I was. In front of us, was Beck. On his back, shot, and dying. Peter and I rushed to him.

"You lied to us. We trusted you."

"I know, and that's the most... disappointing part. Such a weakness. Stark was right, you do deserve them-"

Peter's hand shot out and redirected Beck's before he could shoot him in the head. It was Beck's final illusion, because from what I could tell, the drones really did do some damage to him in the chaos.

"You can't trick me anymore," Peter grunted, twisting his wrist until the gun fell from his grasp.

"Still naive!"

"No!"

Beck's body tensed, and the second gun he'd been concealing behind his back fell to the floor. Peter dropped Beck's hand and looked at me with wide eyes. I myself, was shocked at my actions, but I wasn't the snivelling mess I thought I'd be.

"Monster," Beck grit out as I lowered his body to the floor.

"I'm only a monster if I want to be," I hissed back, releasing my hold on his body, "And that is a choice I'll never make."

Snatching the glasses off of Beck's face, Peter shoved them onto his, "EDITH cancel the drones! Yes, execute them all!"

The army of drones outside retreated back into the sky. Sighing in relief, I turned to Beck. Dying just like his illusion was.

"How could you do this?" I questioned.

"People need to believe. Nowadays they'll believe anything..." Beck trailed off, his eyes glassy and empty.

"Is he- is this for real?" Peter asked EDITH. I assumed she said yes because he took his glasses off and sighed, "We need to meet Fury."

Nodding mutely, I lifted us down with some water. Both of us winced when we landed on the bridge, our fresh injuries flaring up. Although Peter's leg injury seemed to be a bit older than that.

"I can't believe it," I mumbled, turning to Peter.

We met in the middle and hugged like we hadn't seen each other in a lifetime. My mask pulled back and he tugged his off. Hugging again, Peter fished a small tin out of a hidden suit pocket. Both of us had gotten upgrades, now that I was finally focusing on the finer details and not just staying alive and beating Beck.

"I uh, I wanted to give this to you in Paris, but we never ended up going... and then I got hit by a train-"

"Wait, you got _hit_ by the train you were on?"

"Oh, yeah. I ended up in the Netherlands and Happy picked me up. You ended up in Wakanda?"

"Yeah, I fell out of a building and almost drowned in a lake. What were you saying?"

"Right! I need to get this out before the universe stops me again," Peter pulled the top off the tin and got down on one knee-

"Peter-"

"I'm not proposing. But I _am_ making a promise. If we didn't age back, I would have proposed as soon as possible. I _know_ I want to spend my life with you. So, I promise to love you, to be your partner on and off the battlefield, and to marry you... what do you say?"

"Well saying yes wouldn't make sense," I laughed, running a hand under my eyes, "I love you, and I promise to hold you to your promises."

Handing me the ring so I could put it on when we weren't as bloody and when I didn't have partial gloves on, my suit formed another pocket on my belt with more emphasis on the security of it, just like it did with my phone.

"I love you," I pulled him in for a long kiss, "We did it."

"We did it."

~*~

By the time we arrived in Jersey to get picked up from the airport by our parents, Peter had gotten a temporary brace for his leg, we'd delat with all the major details with Fury, and we were just ready to be home and have some peace.

"This was a crazy trip," I chuckled along with Ned and Betty.

"Maybe we should go on a double date sometime," Peter suggested conversationally.

"Oh, we broke up," Betty and Ned announced in unison.

I wasn't surprised, but still feigned it. Whether Peter was actually surprised or not I would have to ask later.

"What? Why?"

"Well Peter, sometimes in life, people grow apart. They may have learned from each other, but it wasn't meant to be," Ned stated like he knew the meaning of life.

"You are so wise," Betty put a hand on Ned's cheek and left it at that.

"My parents are here, so I guess I'll see you later this summer. Let me know if you're going to Wakanda again, that was cool," MJ nudged my shoulder.

"I will, and good luck at your new internship."

After the Blip, MJ found that she was better suited to investigative work than to directing, so she took up an internship at the NYPD instead. She said it was both because she figured out Peter and I were heroes before anyone else, and because it would be cool to be that one cop with all the information.

"I'm glad you're okay," Harry said quietly from behind me after MJ left. I turned to him with a smile.

"You know me, I'm a survivor. I'm looking forward to just relax for the rest of the summer."

With a furrowed brow, Harry asked "What did Beck do wrong?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"What went wrong with his plan?"

"Oh, um, a lot of things I guess. He couldn't beat my hero instincts and MJ's snooping and Peter's determination. Sometimes villains are just destined to fail," sensing the shift in Harry's mood I hugged him, "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you later, (Y/n)."

I left him at that, and worked my way through the crowd of parents to see if I could find my own. To my embarrassment, they found me.

"(Y/n)!"

"(Y/n)! Move bitch, I want to hug my daughter!"

Guess who said what. It wouldn't be very hard. I was tackled by two strong forces and had the life squeezed out of me. It wasn't until I complained that they were irritating my bruises that they stopped and allowed me to breath as they walked me out to the car.

"We'll take you shopping so you can buy new stuff," My mom motioned to my basically empty hands, minus the new watch I was sporting in honor of Tony, "Since it was destroyed."

'Thanks."

"You kicked ass (Y/n)! That was so cool, and you're new uniform, love it! I'm so proud," my dad teared up, "When your mom and I had you we were so worried about how you would be treated, but you carved your own path."

"No crying while driving, honey."

"Sorry Clara, I'll hold them back till we get home."

Laughing, I sighed happily. It was good to be back.

~*~

A week after London, Peter and I were due for a nice date. Instead of going to one of our normal spots, we thought it'd be fun to take a swing around New York and learn more about our new uniforms.

He picked me up on my fire escape and we set off. The city was just as we left it, if not more vibrant seeming since we were still pumped to be back. I cheered with joy as Peter performed stunts in midair, with me just along for the ride.

After around ten minutes of air time, we stopped in front of one of the food stands that offered us free service and were about to get something to drink when the video screens around us cut off.

"This is breaking news."

"We come to you now with revelations about last week's attack in London. An anonymous source provided this video. It shows Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio moments before his death. A warning: you may find this video disturbing."

Sure enough, Beck appeared on the screen. He was frantic, and stated "I managed to send the Elemental back through the dimensional rift but I don't think I'll get off this bridge alive. Spider-Man has attacked me for some reason. He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology. He's saying he's the only one who can be the new Iron Man. Riptide isn't here, I don't think she knows what's happening."

It cut to the end of our battle, where Peter ended the drone strike, only EDITH asked if he wanted to commence a drone attack, and I wasn't there. Peter said "Do it, execute them all."

"This shocking video was released earlier today o the controversial news website TheDailyBudgle.net."

"It is irrefutable that Spider-Man was responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio an interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time. But that's not all, folks, brace yourselves, you might want to sit down."

"I can't say Riptides for fear that she'll be in danger by Spider-Man, but Spider-Man's real name is P- Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!"

Whispers, shouts, and jeers erupted from the streets around us as civilians took in their former hero turned villain. I knew I should have been worried for Peter, hell, I should have been screaming along with the civilians. But as Peter picked me up to swing us away to a safe place where we could talk about what was going on, there was only one thought going through my head.

_Why only Peter?_


	19. New York Prosecution

Our world became a dumpster fire after Peter's identity was revealed. Full of avoiding the press and trying to handle patrol alone and talking to whoever we could about how the hell could clear Peter's name and try to move on as now public heroes.

We'd tried so hard for _years_ to protect our identities to both protect those we loved and keep up some semblance of a normal life. Everything we'd worked for had been destroyed in one faked video on the website that Peter had an internship with before the Blip. We were out in the public, our families were as well, and any chance for a normal life was gone

In all that time, I was canceling therapy session after therapy session because my life was so busy, and I could feel the effects on my mental state. I should have been talking through my stress along with _finally_ moving past my guilt and grief about Tony. Instead, Peter was being painted as a murderer and I wanted nothing more than to scream, "He never killed anyone, but I did!" If it meant clearing his name.

That dumpster fire exploded the day two men in prim suits showed up at Peter's door.

It was week two of the press hounding Peter and everyone he was close to. I was _tired_ of answering questions about how I felt about his relationship with Riptide since he was "cheating on me". Idiots. The only people who had figured out who I was were conspiracy theorists, and no one believed them.

"Fury, you can't just leave us to deal with this alone," I fumed, Fury on speaker between me, Peter, May, and Happy. We'd been trying to get in contact with him for weeks, and when we finally did, he was claiming he couldn't help us, "You're the reason we trusted Beck so much in the first place!"

"People are calling me a murderer, and because they used EDITH, no one an tell if it's been faked or not! Even those experts they get for the big news sites."

_"Sorry, Parker. I'm currently... unavailable. I'm sure you can figure it out. I'll send you a legal contact just in case."_

"Mr. Fury-" May was cut off when Fury hung up, "Shit."

"I'm screwed," Peter moaned sullenly.

"We'll figure this out, Bug-Boy," I assured, gently running my hand over his back.

I spoke too soon. Two solitary knocks caused May to rush to the door. She looked through the peephole, and opened the door instead of leaving it alone. So it wasn't press or haters that had snuck past the security on the main floor, which we'd had to deal with more than once.

"Hello, Mrs. Parker," two men in prim suits, "We are lawyers that represent the State of New York. After delving into further investigation, we've found that we can charge Mr. Parker with first-degree murder."

"What?" We all yelled.

Before any of us could argue or make a move, four police officers in full gear scurried in and pushed Peter to the ground. Screaming, everyone was screaming. Whether it was pleading Peter's innocence, or reciting his rights.

Three of the officers hauled him out the door, and one held us back from going after him. I knew I couldn't be charged with assaulting an officer on top of everything else, so I held back and backed off.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure this out," Happy assured when the group of people left us in the ruins of the apartment, "I'll talk to Pepper about paying his bail."

"Bail for a high profile first-degree murder case? I don't think so. He'd be a flight risk," I shook my head slowly, "What we need now is damn good lawyers."

_Ding._

I rushed to Peter's phone on the table and read the newest text to it out loud.

"Nelson, Murdock, and Page. Hell's Kitchen."

"If Fury suggested them, then they must be good."

"Well, let's find out."

~*~

Decrepit, cheap, and musty were the three words I'd use to describe Nelson and Murdock. That was the top-notch law office Fury recommended for us? Not only that, but May and I were left to deal with it alone. Happy broke off to work something out with Pepper when we left, assuming we'd be safe in a high-class building.

"Hello?" May knocked on the door, cautiously stepping inside.

"Hi," a woman greeted us, "Can I help you?"

"We need a lawyer," May gulped, "Um, it's my nephew. He's innocent and being framed for something he didn't do."

The woman looked both of us over and seemed to deduce that we were being honest. Nodding once, she popped into an office and returned with a man wearing dark glasses and holding a white cane. Blind.

"Hello. My name is Matthew Murdock. Why don't you follow me and we can get started?"

We were led into a meeting room, the woman following with a notepad, "Tell me about your situation."

"Spider-Man, Peter Parker. He's- he's my nephew and they just- men in suits and-" May fumbled over her words while biting back tears, "He's all I have."

"He's been arrested for the first-degree murder of Mysterio," I finished. I wanted to scream and cry and lose myself like May, but I knew it wouldn't save Peter, "For murder, I'm sure you've heard. But he didn't do anything! I was there when Beck died!"

Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hand. Anyone with a brain could figure out the implications behind my words. I'd just revealed my identity to a random lawyer in a weird office and his, likely, only co-worker.

"Anything said in here is confidential," Matt assured calmly, not even allowing an expression of shock to come across his face, "We've had our fair share of identity reveals... if he's truly innocent, I see no reason why he can't take the stand and clear everything up in a press-open trial."

"I do," I winced apologetically, "They're going to grill the crap out of him, and uh, we didn't Blip. After the fight at the old Avengers compound against Thanos, we used an Infinity Stone to adjust our ages, along with some help from... friends. If he's put on stand and the questions start to wander that way, we'll have some issues. If there's another way we can win this trial, that'd be preferable."

I'd protect Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and the young mutants there until my dying breath. They didn't do anything wrong, and it was one of the few places in the world that mutants could go and learn without fear of being themselves. After teaching there for five years, I knew Peter would do the same thing.

"Right. Well, we'll keep in touch and do everything we can to help Peter."

"Thank you," May whispered, standing up and hugging each of them, "Thank you, thank you."

**One Day Later**

"How are you holding up, Bug-Boy?" I stared at Peter in his orange jumpsuit in disdain. He'd already been transferred to a temporary prison close to the courthouse, and it was visiting day. May and I went together, and she just left after being called to a meeting with Matt to go over the evidence the prosecution was gathering.

"Well, half of the prison believes me, and the other half are people we've put away, so it's been interesting," he chuckled quietly, "How're things outside?"

"Matt Murdock is a good lawyer and is making a good ca-"

"No, I mean, how are MJ, Ned, and Harry? I want to take my mind off the fact that the food here is crap and I'm sharing a cell with someone who has tattoo talleys of how many people he's killed."

"Oh, right. Well, MJ and Ned are worried about you and want to testify. I found out that MJ bakes when she's nervous when I went over this morning. Four batches of cookies and two cakes. Ned has dismantled and reassembled his lego sets at least ten times, too. I'm scared he's going to go on a shopping spree and get more."

"And Harry?"

"Harry is... off. He isn't going to testify because he thinks you killed his dad and that wouldn't help, but there's something more. He's angry and cocky at the same time... I've been thinking about the way he was acting on vacation."

It hadn't left my mind. The way he begged me to leave Beck alone when we explained that we knew he was faking it, how he didn't seem surprised at all when he found out. Not to mention the question he asked me at the airport; What had Mysterio done wrong? It was like... like he was trying to learn from the experience. On top of all of that, Beck hadn't framed me along with Peter when it would make his story even stronger. If Harry had been planning with Beck and his team, it would make sense that he'd want to ruin Peter's life and not mine.

"You think he had something to do with it?"

"Beck and his team needed money to do what they did, and Harry has a lot of it. I really don't want to believe it, but something irks me. It makes too much sense."

"That's something we'll have to discuss if I get out." If, not when, because the terrifying truth was that Peter was already being put through a trial by media, and it'd been damn near impossible to find an impartial jury, "What about you? How are you doing?"

"I've been dodging the press and doing what I can. Shuri is doing what she can to prove the video was faked. And I'm going to testify as well-"

"But if you testify then-"

"I know. But it's the least I can do. We're equals, remember? Even in this."

"Yeah," Peter let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair, "I never should have trusted him."

"Hey, I trusted him too. Fury said he was clear, and those illusions were excellent... I saw Tony in him too, Peter. But now, we need to focus on getting you out and clearing your name."

"Right. You mentioned my lawyer earlier?"

"Matt Murdock. He's nice. Blind, actually, but a disability doesn't decide a person's capability. His slate is clean from what I can tell, not corrupt or anything. MJ has some interesting theories about him too. She hasn't stopped talking about them."

"Like what?"

"Have you heard of the Daredevil?"


	20. Parallel by Trial

We'd prepped for Peter's case for a month. Unlike other high-profile cases, we weren't dragging the process out to find evidence that wasn't there. Happy also used some of his connections to move the process a bit faster as well. We wanted the trial over with as soon as possible.

The first day of testimony was an introduction to the case from both sides, the second, and third belonged to the prosecution. Their main piece of evidence was the video along with the fact that Peter hid identity. On the fourth we brought Ned and MJ, but because they couldn't prove that the drone that attacked them wasn't sent by Peter, they were just character witnesses. The fifth day was Matt bringing in Shuri, who was the only one who could debunk the video and prove that it was illusion tech and an advanced AI that made it.

Pushing the ruffles out of my skirt for the fifth time, I calmed my nerves. It was the final day of testimony - the trial again being sped up to our advantage - and I was up. I'd spent the last week thinking of what to say and how to respond to questions. In the end, I wouldn't be sure of what to do until I was actually up there and in the spotlight.

"I'd like to call (Y/n) (L/n) to the stand."

"You got this," Mom whispered as I stood.

Making my way to the stand, I took a seat and met Matt's tinted glasses.

"Good morning, Miss. (L/n). Can you state your relationship to the defendant?"

"I'm his girlfriend."

"Good. And is it true that you saw what happened the day in question?"

"Yes."

"And how is that?"

I took my eyes off of Matt and looked to the cameras at the back of the courtroom. Call it a parallel, full circle, ti didn't matter. Because Tony Stark was smiling down at me as I stated-

"I am Riptide."

The room exploded. Expecting such a reaction, I took the time to calm my racing heart. The thing I'd tried to hard to protect was out. Peter and I were both public heroes.

"Order. Order in the court!"

The room settled and Matt continued, 'Describe Mr. Beck in your own words."

"A liar, manipulative, deranged."

"Can you expand?"

"He made the world think he was a hero. In reality, he was a scorned Stark Industries employee angry with his ex-boss for using his weapon to improve people's mental health."

Congregation murmuring, Matt gave me a small smile.

"That's all, Your Honor. Cross-ex?"

The main prosecutor stood, approaching me on the stand. Despite the confident front they put on, I could tell they were nervous. Shifting, sweating. We were tearing their case apart, and they were so confident earlier.

"You said that he 'made' the world think he was a hero. How does him being an ex-Stark employee affect his status as a hero?"

"It process his story about being from another reality is false, for one," my eye twitched as my annoyance grew, "He used illusion technology and weaponized drones to both show and inflict the damage he wanted."

"And he was able to do this by himself? How could one man, a normal human man as you claim, manage everything that it would take to fool the world?"

The prosecutor sent the jury a confident smirk, but I was about to destroy him.

"He had a team. I don't know how many people were on it, but they each had a role in the plot. Those are the people you should be going after, because I'm certain they've broken more laws than we had."

"Including the Accords?"

That made me livid. The Accords were void to the world after the first fight for the Infinity Stones, and nobody even mentioned them after the second fight to bring everyone back.

"I never signed the Accords, so they don't apply. And I don't see how that is topical."

"... And how are you aware of this team?"

There it was, "When he attempted to kill me and Peter after we discovered he was a fake, a member of his team threw my body into a lake. Princess Shuri of Wakanda saved my life."

Another shocking statement that sent ripples through the crowd. The prosecutor rushed to his council and spoke with them rapidly. I waited patiently. I knew they were scrambling to poke holes in my story and save their case against Peter. No one could have suspected the upset I would bring.

"Describe the events leading up to the victim's death."

They wanted to trip me up, but that wasn't what I feared. It'd lead to me revealing my bloodbending, and while I'd come to terms with it, the public wouldn't be so kind. Heroes walked on a tightrope, and Wanda Maximoff was a prime example of what could happen if you can't balance on it.

"Peter and I confronted Beck for what he was doing. He tried to kill us for a second time. We destroyed the drones he attempted to use, and he used one final illusion to trick us into thinking he was dying. Peter and I sensed something was off, and Peter grabbed his hand to stop him from shooting us. And I... stopped his other hand."

"How did you stop his other hand?"

There it was, "I can control the water in a human's body. So I made him stop."

"Have you ever used your ability to hurt someone?"

_"Ice pierces metal."_

_"And I... am... Iron Man."_

_"To end the beginning."_

_My ice hit its mark, aimed for a joint at the center of his back where his suit would be weak-_

Matt jumped to my aid when I tensed up. I learned his senses were much sharper than tha average person, so he must have heard my heart rate rise.

"Objection on the ground of topicality."

"We're done anyway, Your Honor."

Allowed to step off the stand, I hurried over to my parents, collapsing into my seat. My parents both grabbed one of my hands, and MJ and Ned behind us- MJ with her parents and Ned with his mom - put a hand on my shoulders. Sending them small smiles, we all focused in on the judge.

"Would the prosecution like to give their closing statement?"

"Yes, Your Honor," the prosecutors spoke briefly before one stood to address the jury, "This trial was not to prove Mr. Beck's credibility as a hero, but to prove a murder. All the defense has done is prove that Mr. Parker was not out to harm civilians, and that Mr. Beck was faking a status as a hero."

I smirked. They didn't bring up my testimony because they were _screwed_ if they did.

"We are here to prove that Mr. Parker is guilty of murder. He had a motive, means, and guilty opportunity. He has great power, as does his partner, and they hid behind masks because of a situation just like this. Now, Mr. Parker _must_ be held accountable for his actions."

The prosecutor sat and Matt stood. He took his time walking to the jury, a mask of calm settled on his face. Even though I already had a lot of faith in our case, Matt's closing statement was our final stand.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it is an age of heroes. For the past eleven years they've fought battles we never could. We've held them on pedestals and seen them as 'greater than'. But here, we have a high school student who is balancing the weight of the world on his shoulders. But he isn't a god, an assassin, or a mutant. He's human, just like us. He was given great power, and he understands that it comes with responsibility."

Peter sent me a glance, a twinkle in his eye when Matt said that.

"Mr. Beck attempted to kill numerous people multiple times to make the world see him as a hero. Over the course of the trial we've proven Mr. Beck was a fake, unstable, and that it was his own recklessness and desperation that killed him, not my client. So, allow Spider-Man to continue to keep our world safe. But most importantly, allow Peter Parker to live the long life he has ahead of him. Thank you."

Damn. Matt was really good at speeches. The jury seemed moved by it.

"Court is adjourned for the day, and will be called back when a verdict has been reached."

At that, everyone stood and made their way out of the courtroom. I was flanked by two Stark Industries bodyguards that prevent the press from trampling me. I'd give my statement when Peter gave his; after he was proven innocent.

My parents and I hurried to our car, getting away from the stress of the trial, the eyes of the public, and the unwarranted fear that our defense wasn't enough.

~*~

It was exactly twenty-four hours later when May called my parents to say they'd come to a verdict.

All of us rushed to put on some decent clothes and drove like madmen to the courthouse. It was a miracle that we didn't get stuck in any late evening traffic.

"May!" We were immediately let into the courtroom for obvious reasons and sat down next to May in the front row.

"The jury is coming in now," Matt turned around to inform us, "All of their heartbeats are steady, none of them are being blackmailed. Whatever their verdict is, it's what they think."

There was Matt's freaky hearing again, working in our favor. The rest of the congregation and the press filed in. The jury stood.

"Have you come to a final verdict?" The judge asked the jury.

"Yes, Your Honor," the head juror nodded, holding up their announcement piece, "We the jury on this day July twenty-first, twenty-twenty-three, hereby find Peter Parker..."

Breath hitching, everyone seemed to lean forward in their seats. This would decide our lives as we knew it, and that was terrifying.

"Innocent and acquitted of all charges."

I sobbed. So did May, my parents, Ned and J- there were a lot of tears in our general area. Peter grinned, turned, and jumped over the banister to hug me and May. He was moving on to Ned and MJ when the judge cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Your Honor!" Peter leapt back into his seat.

"Right... the verdict has been announced and is in writing. Mr. Parker, many in the world will not be kind, but that does not mean you should stop being a hero. Case adjourned. Go ahead Mr. Parker."

At the judge's word, Peter jumped over the banister and pulled us into hugs again.

After our admittedly tearful celebration in the courtroom, Matt led us out to the steps of the courthouse so we could make our speeches in front of the press, and in front of the world.

"Peter, you go first," Matt pointed at the podium where every news outlet imaginable was waiting, "Read off this, Karen typed it up."

"Okay," Peter stepped up, "Hi everyone. I trusted Beck with my life, and in return he tried to take it and ruin it by framing me for his death. Some of you may be hesitant to believe that I'm innocent, but I will not stop protecting New York. I will continue to operate as Spider-Man. In time, I hope you can see that all that has ever been on my mind is the well-being of those that are innocent."

With Peter done, I stepped up to make my first speech as a public hero.

"I came out as Riptide one day ago. I did so to clear Peter's name, and to show the public that Spider-Man and Riptide are equals in everything they do. With that, I will also continue being a hero. Public heroes face hardships of their own, which is why we hid, but this world needs defenders, and we are that. Call us too young, murderers, or go after the ones we love... we will show you why we are able to continue the legacy of Tony Stark and the Avengers."

The crowd of press exploded, but were held back by a line of Stark Industries guards. Because of the crowds in the front, we were going to leave through the back. Before we got into the car, I turned back to Matt.

"Are you Daredevil?" I asked bluntly.

Lips upturning, Matt answered, "If you're ever off saving the world again, I'll protect New York for you."

Nodding once, I opened the SUV door, "Thank you Matt, truly. Stay in touch."

"Count on it."

I got in the car. Everyone was inside, talking joyously. Sliding in between Peter and Happy, I squeezed his hand.

"I love you," I told him tearily.

"I love you too, Blue."

"How about some dinner?" All of us jumped when Kurt appeared in the car, "We've been watching the trial closely, sorry for the lack of communication."

"You're busy, we get it."

"Good. So, would you like to come for dinner?"

"Let's do it!"

Faintly, I realized that most of the people in the car had never met the X-Men before.

My worlds were about to collide.


	21. The Garden

Two weeks after the verdict and acquittal of Peter, our lives had become semi-normal. I was visiting Wakanda on the weekends to continue my internship with Shuri, and I resumed my therapy appointments with Shawn. Still, something tickled my mind and haunted my dreams.

Morgan's little face looking up at me and saying that I killed her father. 

Suffice to say, it made our weekly visits with her a lot harder. Beck tried to ruin Peter's life, but what he didn't realize was that he ruined mine far before Peter was almost convicted of murder. But it wasn't just Beck, it was Thanos too. In my therapy sessions, Shawn and I were stuck on the idea of closure. I never got to stick-it to Thanos and tell him what I really thought of him, scream at him and curse him to hell for what he made me do. If I could do that, things would be better. Because I'd be facing who really killed Tony. But since I couldn't, there was no way to turn that blame to someone other than myself.

Peter picked up on how I felt pretty easily, and we talked about it on more than one occasion. It wasn't until Peter asked if we could go to Wakanda together a week after our conversation without telling me why that I knew something was up.

Okoye picked us up an hour later, and she was just as cryptic about why we were going. When we landed, Shuri was there to greet us and bring us to her lab. When we stepped off the transporter, I realized why everyone had been so quiet.

"You made a spaceship?"

It was modeled much like the Guardians', with Shuri's own flare here or there. Fully functional, with the vibranium to allow it to survive the atmosphere.

"Peter told me that you've been needing to go to space," Shuri explained shortly, leading us aboard, "And while I'm not entirely sure why, I couldn't leave my best friend hanging and not build her the spaceship of her dreams so she could do so."

"Shuri, you're my favorite person," I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Don't think this doesn't come without a price. I'm coming with you. It'll be fun!"

"A space trip with no adult supervision? Sure, why not?"

An hour earlier I had been talking to my parents about whether or not we should order takeout or make something for dinner. Now, I was going out to space.

Loading onto the ship, Peter and I set our bags in the corner and strapped in. Shuri excitedly sat in the Captain's seat, leaving a message for T'Challa that she was going to space because he was on a mission and she couldn't tell him in person. I wished I could see his reaction to that. I could practically hear the tired sigh.

"Leaving the ground," Shuri announced. The ship shot off the ground and into the air, slamming all of us back in our seats, "Note to self, fix that later. I talked to Rocket about their ship capabilities and received some new parts in return, so this baby is all ready for deep space travel. I have a map of the galaxy and jumping capabilities, so where do you want to go?"

"The Garden."

With wide eyes, my head snapped to face Peter. He sent me a confident smile in return. He knew what he was doing, so I had to trust his judgment.

"Alright. Planet located, coordinates locked. We've got four jumps to get there, so hold on."

G-force was a bitch. All of us gasped as Shuri started the jumps and we were unable to move a finger. Once a jump was completed, there were a few seconds of reprieve where the ship was traveling to another jump spot, and then the cycle began again.

By the time we were done, all of us were groaning in discomfort. Shuri never lost her smile, however, and even managed a laugh or two in between panting for air and clutching a garbage can that was hidden under the dash.

"Everybody good?" She questioned, we managed groans in reply, "Awesome. Because that was the best moment of my life and I can't wait to do it again on the way back."

We all laughed. Tapping away at her holo-pads, Shuri pulled up an image of mine and Thanos' old home.

"This is the only structure on the planet. Is there where you want to go?"

"Yeah." I shot Peter another look. What kind of game was he playing? Did he want me to face my deepest insecurities and worst trauma?

A few, short minutes later we landed. I spun my chair around so I wouldn't be able to see the decrepit structure. Peter grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Humming to herself with no idea of why we were so out of it, Shuri wandered into a separate room of the ship and came back out rolling what looked like a coffin.

"What's... what do you got there?" I asked nervously.

Slamming her hand down on the button that opened the back, Shuri grinned, "Your boyfriend asked me to smuggle away some of our Ancestor Sand. It's incredibly important to my people and we might get arrested if it's discovered we took some. Fun!"

Following her mutely, Shuri parked the box a few feet away from the steps of the house. I didn't want to go inside. I didn't know if Thanos' corpse was still there, having been rotting away for five years. I didn't want to find out, either.

"This is your closure," Peter explained as Shuri opened the box to reveal it was full of red sand, "That sand can make you meet whoever you need to talk to, even if they're dead. You needed to talk to Thanos, now you can. This is your closure."

"Peter-" My chest tightened.

"Talk to me after you murder him again for what he did," Peter grabbed me by my hips and lifted me into the box.

The sand was smoother than I thought, almost like silk against my skin. Lying down, my heart dropped to my stomach when Shuri began moving the sand over my body, not caring if it was a little too close to my face as she went through the process.

"The sand's particles are far enough apart that oxygen can still get through, unlike normal sand. In order for it to work, we have to cover your face. But you'll be able to breathe," Shuri assured me.

"Okay," I gulped. I was placing a _lot_ of trust in the two of them.

Closing my eyes tightly, I held back a gasp when they first pile of sand covered my face. Then another, and another, until all I could feel was silk shifting around me. Sure enough, I could still breath- which calmed my racing heart. The sand was warm, as if it retained the heat from the Wakandan sun. Faintly, I heard a bell chime. Once, twice-

_When I dared to open my eyes, I was outside of the box and in front of the house. Thanos was standing next to me, staring down at me with no malice or anger, just curiosity._

_"It's been a while since we've talked," he stated, looking off into the distance, "To become God is the loneliest achievement of them all, I learned that when I snapped the first time, so I thank you for returning. The last time you were here, we couldn't finish our conversation."_

_"The last time I was here?"_

_"I believe it was before you changed your body."_

_He was talking about when Jean removed Thanos from my mind, the day Peter and I used the Time Stone to age back. When she was pulling out the last bits of Thanos' influence, I was brought to the Garden and talked to Thanos about why I thought he sent me on missions when he claimed he was at peace._

_"Before I left, you said that you weren't using me to save yourself," I mumbled. This conversation was too tame. Part of me was screaming at my body to move, punch him,_ **_kill_ ** _him, do something other than talk to him like nothing ever happened. But I couldn't. I wouldn't._

_"And you wanted to ask why I kept sending you on missions," Thanos waited for a few seconds, then prompted, "Go ahead, ask why."_

_"I said you were using me as your guide because you were lost. You said I was wrong. So why did you go through the trouble of ruining my life if it wasn't for selfish reasons?"_

_"I wanted to save you."_

_I had to laugh at that. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Perhaps it was true. Or it was all a load of bullshit. Allowing the breeze to pass over me, I took in a deep breath, turned to Thanos, and smiled._

_Closure is never what you expect it to be. I'd been telling myself that closure for me would be sticking-it to Thanos one last time, letting him know that I hated him for what he did and that I was more than the killer he tried to make me, but that wasn't closure. It was revenge, malice. That's why, instead of yelling and attacking, I said-_

_"I didn't- I don't need you to save me. Because for the first time, I_ **_know_ ** _I can find my way and save myself. Maybe not on my own, but I'm not alone, and that's where our paths diverge. I will never be God, never achieve something so lonely. I didn't kill Tony. He sacrificed himself for all of us. And I will not spit on his legacy by destroying myself with guilt. I will never forgive you for what you did to me, but that doesn't mean I can't accept it and keep fighting."_

_Thanos smiled, and nodded, "Good."_

Bursting up, I gasped as my entire body came to life. Shuri and Peter were by my side in an instant, a hand on each of my shoulders as I regained my bearings. When I was done panicking, Peter helped me out, and I pulled him into the tightest hug I could muster.

It would take another therapy session to process what I just went through- considering my brain was rapidly trying to catch up- but my heart wasn't heavy, and the tears forming in my eyes weren't from the mental anguish I'd allowed to fester.

"I love you. Thank you for putting this together," I held back my tears, and poured all of my love into the statement.

"It worked, then? You kicked his ass?"

"Not exactly. I'll tell you about it later. How long was I in there?"

"Around two hours. Shuri and I have been playing Mario Kart on her Switch while we've been waiting. We stopped at another planet for some food too. It was actually pretty good." Peter shrugged.

"You mean you left me, in a box full of sand on an alien planet, _alone_?"

"Snitch!" Shuri slapped Peter's shoulder, "You weren't supposed to tell her about that."

"Sorry!"

Chuckling, I sighed contently, glancing over to the house. I still wasn't going to go inside, but that didn't mean I couldn't do anything with it.

Raising my hands, I carefully shifted the plant life surrounding the little home. The plants growing through the cracks in the stairs enveloped them completely. The trees behind the house completely loomed over the roof. And the tall grass on either side grew so tall that the entrance couldn't be seen anymore. The house was lost to nature, never to hurt anyone again.

Looking to the fields, I observed his suit of armor curiously, unsure of what to do with it. Humming in curiosity, I noticed that there was another figure next to it. Shuri and Peter must have never noticed because they were too absorbed in the Switch game.

"You guys can head to the ship. I'll be there in a second," I waved my hand absently, hurrying toward the suit of armor.

Cautiously approaching the person, I noted that they were a woman. Tall, with long black hair and striking green eyes that matched her outfit.

She spoke before I had the chance to, "How did he affect your life?"

I knew she was talking about Thanos, "He kidnapped me, adjusted my body, and made me hurt my loved ones... what about you?"

"I was lost, and he found me. Tortured me into submission and gave me the power I always craved. But it was tainted and made me cruel. I see now that I was never born for it, and that's okay."

Nodding silently, I stared up at the armor in front of us.

"Do you know what happened to Thor?" The woman asked quietly.

"Last I heard he was traveling the universe with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He lost himself during the five years after the Snap and is trying to find himself again. He gave up New Asgard too, we were all shocked by it."

"He'll be back. The throne has always daunted him in ways we could never understand. Who did he give the throne to?"

"Valkyrie."

The woman chuckled, "Feisty woman. I can see why, but she'll need some help."

"Are you going to help her?"

"No one else knows the secrets of the throne better than I." The woman turned away, "Goodbye."

"Wait!" I put a hand on her arm, "Who are you?"

Smirking, the woman turned to face me one last time, "My name is Loki Odindottir. Goddess of Mischief, queen of nothing in particular, and sister of Thor." The woman chuckled when my brows furrowed, "Your world has those who don't fit as a binary gender, doesn't it? Maybe I'll see you again, (Y/n) (L/n)."

I blinked. The woman was gone. I didn't stop to wonder how Loki knew my name. They had many tricks up their sleeve, and skills the world had never seen.

Trekking back to the ship, I buckled myself in. Shuri and Peter didn't ask what I was doing. Maybe they assumed I was saying my final goodbyes, or they saw me talking to Loki and were allowing me the privacy of our conversation. Either way, I appreciated their discretion.

On the way back, Peter and Shuri told a story about how Shuri got the contact information of their server at the alien restaurant they went to, and she was ecstatic about possibly dating an alien.

I was happy, content, and for the first time in years, completely free. Everything was okay.

Until we entered the atmosphere and were within service rang for our phones again. All of us stepped off the ship, outside of Shuri's lab again.

"So, are you guys going to spend the weekend here? (Y/n), I have some more things we can do with bringing life back to the reefs and countering the ice caps melting in-"

"Oh, sorry Shuri, give me a sec," I noticed that I had several voicemails from Harry. I stepped away from Shuri and Peter to listen.

_"Hey, (Y/n)! I heard you were going to Wakanda for the weekend. When you get back, you should come over for the day. Text me when you can."_

Not alarming.

_"(Y/n), I don't want to cut your trip short but I need you here. I feel fine when I'm around you, and-"_

More concerning, especially considering it cut off at the end.

_"Shit. (Y/n). They acquitted him. Why was he acquitted when he's a murderer?_ **_He killed my father!_ ** _He should be in prison. They all worship him like he's a true hero. A true hero saves people. Where was he, huh? They'll all see."_

"Holy shit," there was one more.

_"This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. Why did you choose him (Y/n)? Weren't you_ **_happy_ ** _? He should be... dead. You're right. Peter should be_ **_dead_ ** _and I should be the hero! Mysterio was supposed to handle this, he was supposed to take care of him. But he_ **_failed_ ** _. I won't... I won't."_


	22. Another Dimension

"Oh my god," I was nauseous. It sounded like Harry was talking to someone in the final voicemail, but there were no other voices to be heard. Almost like... like who he was talking to didn't exist, "Peter! We need to go back to New York, now!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's Harry. I think he had a breakdown. Like a _breakdown_. Peter... he sounded like Norman."

Peter's eyes widened. Harry may have hated his guts, but he never tried to hurt us, and Peter never stopped thinking of him as family. Especially since we still hung out in the same circle. So for Harry to be delving into madness, following the same path as his father, we were all terrified.

"Shuri, we need to go back to New York. _Now._ "

"Uh, sure. You can take one of the quinjets. You remember how to fly them, right?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Shuri. We'll hang again soon!"

Shouldering our overnight bags, we ran to the nearest quinjet, trusting Shuri would tell whoever she needed to that we had taken it. Loading up, we clicked New York's preset coordinates and set it to the top speed.

Pulling out our suits from our bags, we quickly pulled them on. I was thankful that it was a Shuri suit because I simply pulled on the cuffs and had my suit cover my clothes. If I had to pull the full thing on, my hands would be shaking too badly to operate.

"Where are we gonna land this thing?" Peter wondered when we settled into our seats again.

"Put it in cloaking mode and land it on the building next to the mansion. Then we can swing over to his roof."

Within the hour we arrived in New York. Harry's manor had no lights on, despite the late hour. Landing the jet on the nearest flat rooftop, we rushed out.

While Peter was swinging us both to Harry's roof, the sky opened above us. Peter gasped in shock as he was pulled toward the portal. Holding onto him for dear life, we screamed as we were sucked in, so close to helping Harry.

~*~

"(Y/n), (Y/n) wake up!"

Snapping up, Peter's familiar face greeted me, but-

"You look like a cartoon."

"So do you."

Pulling out the small hand-held mirror I kept for my lipstick, I looked myself over carefully. Sure enough, my features had taken on a cartoon-ish nature, while still maintaining some semblance of realism. The world around us was different. Straight out of a comic book with bold lines for building borders and stark highlights on people's clothing.

"What the hell happened? Where are we?"

"New York," Peter looked around, "There's Times Square. But it's not _our_ New York."

"No kidding."

The giant Times Square screen across from us flicked away from its normal picture of whatever advertisement had bought a spot for the day. An emergency news bulletin gave us the final shock of the night.

_"We interrupt this broadcast for a special report. Sad news tonight. The hero known as Spider-Man has died after injuries related to another powerful earthquake in Brooklyn. Multiple sources are confirming that Peter Parker, a 26-year-old grad student, and part-time photographer, operated as SpiderMan for at least a decade, saving by some counts thousands of lives around the world. With these tragic seismic events on the rise, one can only wonder, is there anyone who can keep New York safe?"_

"I'm dead?"

"You're blonde?"

Two very different reactions, and Peter and I exchanged looks when we said them. Not only was Peter apparently dead in this- wherever we were, but he was in his 20s again.

_"He is survived by his wife Mary Jane and his aunt, May Parker. Our hero Spider-Man is gone."_

And he married MJ. Who was a redhead... okay.

"We need to find my apartment," I muttered, tapping Peter's arm frantically, "If this is like our universe then my parents should be here. We can explain this to them-figure it out."

"(Y/n)-"

But I was already leaving. I was off of the rooftop and onto the next, overwhelmed by how many differences there were from our universe, and how scarily similar it was. But Peter was dead, he had been killed in an "earthquake".

My apartment building was in sight. Desperately, I touched down on the fire escape and thundered down the steps until I was at the familiar level. Peeking inside, I scowled when I couldn't see anything and pulled out my phone flashlight.

"(Y/n), stop," Peter grabbed my arm, but I pressed the flashlight button and it was too late.

There was no one inside. The room was different, not that of a teenage girl, or even of me when I'd be twenty-six and stayed in the apartment while my parents moved somewhere else to retire. It was someone completely different, a boy's room full of sports posters and football equipment.

"There may be the same people, and the same heroes, but all we've noticed is how different it is, too. We need to find somewhere to stay and then we can figure this out."

"We need new clothes, too."

"I don't have any money for that. I barely have room for my phone in this suit."

"Misty, can you make a credit card out of nano-tech? Something that'll pass through the scanners."

_"I must advise you against doing something illegal, but it is in my capabilities."_

"Let's get some clothes," I pulled my suit back into my cuffs, "Actually, I'll just do. You stay in an alley or something. I look like a teenager, you look like Dead Spider-Man."

"Oh, right."

Reluctantly I left my apartment building with the knowledge that wherever I was in this new universe, I wasn't with Peter. On the streets, I found the nearest clothing store, picking out the first couple of outfits that would fit me and Peter. I didn't know how long we'd be stuck in this new New York, but we'd need to play it safe.

I gave the cashier a smile, and nervous swiped the credit card made out of nano-tech that thankfully still worked. It worked, and I had no idea if Misty hacked the system or if it was taking money from the account that Tony left me and Peter that didn't exist anymore. But it didn't matter.

I met Peter in the nearest alley, and he quickly switched out of his Spider-Man costume into some civilian clothes. From there, we decided our best course of action would be to find a hotel to stay in, and figure things out the next morning.

The secretary at the hotel was very suspicious of us and asked for an ID that I had to have Misty make on the spot. She probably thought we were runaway sweethearts, which was half true. We were sweethearts, but we hadn't run away from anything.

In our room, we showered and laid down, taking advantage of the free Wifi to do some simple searches on our phones and report back to each other with our findings.

"The Avengers don't exist in this universe," Peter started.

"I can't find any traces of a twenty-six-year-old named (Y/n) (L/n)," I continued.

"And this is a different dimension," we concluded together.

After the whole thing with Beck, Peter and I never even considered the possibility that there were alternate dimensions. Beck confirmed it, then quickly disproved his story when everything fell apart. But there was some truth to his words, there was a Multiverse, and we were smack dab in the middle of a different reality where Peter Parker had just died.

"Tomorrow, we'll look for Aunt May and figure things out," I whispered to Peter, grabbing his hand under the blankets to both give and feel reassurance.

"Wouldn't it be kind of scarring, seeing her dead, young nephew right after he died?" Peter's eyes widened.

"There're no Avengers or Shuri Udaku we can go to in this dimension, and no Xavier's as far as I can tell. She's all we have."

Peter didn't respond. Instead, he pulled me closer. I pushed down my negative thoughts, and worries about how we'd get back home. Of never seeing my parents or our friends again. Worrying wouldn't get us back home, and it wouldn't help me sleep either.

Matching my breathing pace with Peter's, I drifted off to sleep.

~*~

Peter and I woke up at eleven the next morning. We would have slept in later, too, if it weren't for our bodies splitting apart and slamming back together in rapid succession.

"Oh my god," I groaned in pain, curling in a fetal position when it was over, "What the hell was that?"

"Our atoms must be splitting apart and reforming to deal with the new dimension. We aren't supposed to be here and our bodies know it," Peter gave the smartest answer, "In other words, there's no giving up and making a life here. If we don't get back-"

"We're dead."

At that sobering thought, we changed into a new set of clothes and checked out of the hotel. All I had on me was my cuffs, my phone, and a few other small items that I kept in my suit like my lipstick. Peter had his Spider-Man suit in a plastic store bag.

"You don't think we can just google May's address, do you?"

"No, but we can just trail her like stalkers," I grabbed his hand and dragged him into a large crowd full of people wearing Spider-Man memorabilia.

It was a public memorial service, and at the front stage was red-head MJ and older-May.

"My favorite thing about Peter is that he made us each feel powerful. We all have powers of one kind or another. But in our own way, we are all Spider-man. And we're all counting on you."

MJ backed away from the podium, walking away with Aunt May just behind her. Tapping Peter's arm, I motioned for us to get out of the crowd. He nodded, pausing. His eyes trained on a spot farther away in the sea of red and blue.

"Peter? What's wrong?"

"Don't know. I got a Peter Tingle."

Nose scrunching up at the use of the term, I sighed, "We need to call it something else. Like a Hero Premonition, or a Sixth Sense- Spidey Sense! That's the one."

"Okay. I got a Spidey Sense about someone over there."

"Good or bad?"

"Neither. It was almost like... they're like me."

My eyes shifted over to MJ and Aunt May. They were almost out of sighed.

"Peter I would love to look for whoever set you off, but we have more important things to worry about. Misty, I need you to track May and make a map to her address."

_"It will be completed when she arrives home."_

"Awesome. We need to put our suits on and then we can start following the map."

Most of the alleys nearby were full of people passing through to get to and from the memorial. Because of that, we were stuck changing inside the nearest "WcDonald's" bathroom. No one batted an eye when we walked out in full hero garb. Peter being dead was weird, but convenient.

Misty pulled up the map to May's house and sent it to Karen so Peter could swing us there. It was around six at night when we finally touched down. We'd wandered the city and maneuvered through the Spider-Man mourners most of the day.

While walking up to the porch, Peter didn't say a word. I knew what he was thinking. May and him had been stuck in a dingy apartment when we first met. Since he had been working with Tony and Happy, things had improved, but to see any version of May in a _house_ must have been endearing.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Peter's lenses narrowed in on the gifts left around her porch.

"It'd be a better idea if you too your mask off," Peter did as I said, and I pulled mine off as well, "She's all we have in this dimension unless you want to try the other MJ."

Peter rung the bell. We only had to wait for a few seconds before May answered.

"Thank you, for being such sweet fans but-" she cut herself off when she saw us. "Peter."

"Hi, May."

"You're so young," May put a gentle hand on Peter's cheek, "And a brunette."

"Yeah, about that, I'm from-"

"Another dimension." She noticed our shocked faces, "Why don't you come inside? I'll heat up some of the many casseroles I've been given, and we can talk before you meet the others."

"Others?" I questioned.

"How do you think I knew where you two were from? You are from the same dimension as him, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm (Y/n) by the way. In his dimension we're partners."

"Ah, I understand," May smiled, ushering us inside, "Let's talk."

She set us up with a premade casserole and a mug of coffee. It was silent while we ate, but the two of us had been ignoring our hunger since we arrived, and a meal was appreciated.

"We're sorry to put this on you so soon after... um..." I trailed off awkwardly, not sure where to go from there.

May smiled gently, and despite the age difference, I saw young May in her eyes.

"You weren't the first people to come to me," May set out dishes in the sink, "Although you are quite different, (Y/n)."

"Thank you?"

"Follow me."

May led us into her small backyard, producing a key from her pocket and clicking it into the lock. It glowed bright blue, and clicked open to reveal a high-tech platform. In awe, we stepped onto the platform.

It took us into an HQ stocked full of Spider-Man related equipment. Tony would have been proud, and Shuri would froth at the mouth at the sight. It was an amazing ideal of what Spider-Man _could_ be.

Leaning over to Peter, I whispered, "This is what we need to invest our Tony money into."

Peter nodded in mute amazement, eyes still glued to all the amazing tech surrounding us. I knew as soon as we got back to New York that he'd be having a talk with Shuri about making an HQ.

"It started last night. I knew what Peter was doing could lead to what happened, and I accepted that he'd never give up being Spider-Man, even if it cost him his life. But _how_ he died is what brought you all here."

"Us all?"

"Another comrade to fight against the hands of darkness that have dragged us into the strange world." A deep male voice, reminiscent to Nick Cage.

"That's a dark way to look at it." Higher, female, a middle schooler maybe.

Three people total, drastically different in appearance, all held one thing in common.

"They're like me," Peter's eyes widened, and I knew he was having a Spidey-Tingle moment, "Spider-Men, women, uh, pig?"

"That's right!"

"John Mulaney," I whispered. recognizing my favorite comedian's voice anywhere.

"Come here kid," the pig waved me over. Hesitantly, I approached and kneeled down when he motioned for me to, "Bitches get stitches."

Jumping back, I nodded once in understanding. On his orders, he definitely _wasn't_ John Mulaney.

"Spider-People from other dimensions, just like you two," May explained shortly, "Peni, Porker, and Noir."

It was easy to assign names to the person. Peter gave a small wave, "Hi, I'm uh, I'm Peter."

"(Y/n)."

"As of right now, Peni is trying to track down the source of these earthquakes. We believe they're connected to what happened to you. There're bunks here, and a bathroom. You'll be safe here until you can get home."

"Thanks, May," Peter's hand twitched, and I grabbed it before he could move and hug May. It was instinctual for him, and I understood, but he wasn't her Peter and all of us knew it.

"If you need anything, let me know, you can take the platform up to the house," May stepped onto the platform again, "Good luck."

When she was out of sight, we turned back to Peter's dimensional-counterparts. All of them weren't anything like the dead-Peter we had seen. They were drastically different from my Peter.

"You aren't one of us, are you?" Peni asked innocently, skipping up to get closer to me.

"No, uh, I'm a different hero. I got sucked into the portal with Peter and we're both stuck here."

"What can you do?" Noir interrogated.

"Control water."

The three seemed to nod in collective agreement and left us to our own devices. Peni was typing away on the super-computer while sitting on top of a robot, Noir was messing with a Rubik's cube, and Ham was eating a pie.

While exploring everything the HQ had to offer, Peter, and I suffered from another atom separation. All of the other Spider-Men suffered from the same thing at the same time. No one said anything about it, but we all knew how dire our situation it was.

When we were finished, we retired early, exhausted from the day of running around the city in search of answers, and of the mental effort it took to process how many dimensions were clashing together.

Unsure of whether or not more Spider-Men would show up, Peter and I laid claim to only one of the beds. Neither of us wanted to admit it, but being close to each other was the only reassurance we had that we weren't going crazy and imagining this different dimension with cartoon/comic/anime people.

"What do you think they're doing back home?" I asked Peter, trying to hold back my tears.

"Looking for us, worrying, assuming we got dragged into another long-term mission."

It was silent for a few seconds after that, "Peter... will we ever get back home?"

"I hope so." It was all he could say.


	23. Leap of Faith

The next morning, May provided all of us with some more food, and left us to do our work again. Peter and I weren't sure where we stood. We got excited with the others when Peni found out that the source of the portals was a dimensional-collider under the city, and that in order to keep it open, one of us would have to stay behind. We assisted Peni in the science of it all when we could, but mostly kept to ourselves or got to know the other Spider-Men.

It was that night when we got our newest and final arrivals. They came down with May. A girl, a teenager, and an older man that resembled a more tired version of Peter when he was older.

"You might need these," May held out the "my name is" stickers she'd jokingly put on our breakfast plates that morning, "You think you're the only people who thought to come here?"

"Hey fellas." Noir greeted.

"Is he in black and white?" The teenage boy asked.

"Where is that wind coming from? We're in a basement."

"Wherever I go, the wind follows. And the wind, smells like rain."

Peni jumped down from above, "Hi guys! Konichiwa! Hajimemashita yoroshuku?"

Peni's robot- SP//dr, I learned- landed just behind her in a pose.

"This could literally not get any weirder."

Then came Porker. He waltzed up to the older-Peter and held out his hand, "It _can_ get weirder! I just washed my hands that's why they're wet. No other reason."

Peter and I waved in the most undramatic fashion possible. Did all superheroes inherit an automatic sense of theatrical talent?

"You're like me."

Needless to say I felt a little left out.

"My name is Peter Parker."

"My name is Peni Parker."

"My name is Peter Porker."

"I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"I was bitten by a radioactive pig."

"In my universe it's 1933 and I'm a private eye. I like to drink egg creams and I like to fight Nazis. A lot."

"I am from New York in the year 3145. I have a psychic link with a spider who lives inside my father's robot, and we're best friends. Forever."

"Sometimes I let matches burn down to my fingertips just to feel something, anything."

"I'm a photographer for the Daily Beagle. When I'm not pooching around, I'm working like a dog trying to sniff out the latest story. I frolic and I dance and I do this with my pants--"

"And we came from 2023," I cut in before Porker's story could get any weirder, "My name is (Y/n), and this is Peter. He's Spider-Man, I'm not. We're hero partners, and we both got sucked into the portal on a mission."

"How did you get here?" Older-Peter asked.

"We got sucked into a portal and ended up here," all of us answered in unison.

"And now we're just trying to find a way home," Peni concluded.

"The only way home is back through the collider gizmo. The only trouble is-"

"One of us has to stay behind and destroy it."

"I'll do it." Everyone but Peter and I answered.

Consider it selfish, but neither of us wanted to stay behind. We had families we _had_ to get back to, and things we had to deal with. The others may have been willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their inter-dimensional counterparts, but Peter and I were just trying to get home.

"No, no, no, you don't get it," the kid cut it.

In perfect timing, all of us glitched. It was the worst one compared to our two others, lasting even longer and the pain more intense.

"None of you can stay here. If you stay here, you'll die. I'm the guy who's going to turn it off and I'm going to get you all home before I do. Look, I made a promise. So I have to keep it."

The kid had a point. If he really was from that universe, he was the only one who could stay without fear of dying soon after.

"Who are you again?" Noir asked, point-blank.

"This is Miles, and he's going to save the multiverse. This kid can turn himself invisible! Watch this, he can do it... now!"

Miles struggled to turn invisible but he couldn't.

"I can't do it on command-"

"He can't do it on command. But it _is_ cool. Show them the zappy thing, Miles."

Once again, Miles struggled to show off his power, "I can't do it on command."

"He can't do it on command. But he can do so much more, like what else do you do-"

"Just those two things."

"Just those two things."

The girl, thankfully, cut in, "Look I've seen him in action. He's got potential. I think he's gonna get us home."

She said it with conviction. I knew everyone wanted to believe it, "Okay, little fella, Kingpin's gonna send a lot of mugs after ya, I'm talking hard boys, real biscuit boxers. Can you fight them all off at once?"

"Well, I, I haven't actually fought anyone-"

"Surprise attack," Noir knocked Miles down. Peni jumped in.

"Can you rewire a mainframe while being shot at? Show me!"

"Surprise attack!"

"Can you swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer?"

"Can you close off your feelings so you don't get crippled by the moral ambiguity of your violent actions?"

"Can you help your aunt create an online dating profile so she can get out of the dang house once in a while?"

"Can you float through the air when you smell a delicious pie?"

"Can you be strong?"

"Ruthless?"

"Disciplined?"

"I don't know, maybe-"

"Show me some moxie, soldier!"

Peter and I shared nervous looks. Coming from two kids who had struggled to both find themselves and see where they stood as heroes, the other Spider-Men weren't giving him a great start.

"Above all, no matter how many times you get hit, can you get back up?"

"Because when a Spider-Man is on the floor-"

"When you think you've given your all-"

"When you think you can't keep going-"

"Spider-Man always gets up."

In rapid succession, they repeatedly knocked Miles to the floor. After the fourth time, he hit the ground and stayed there.

"Get up Miles! Get up!"

"Guys," I brought their attention to me, "That's too much for him."

My comment caused them to exchange concerned looks. Noir grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him into a circle specifically for the Spider-Men, meaning I was left on the sidelines. I didn't take offense to it. If I was surrounded by other versions of myself, I'd be focused solely on them too.

Kneeling down next to Miles, I offered him a hand, "Every hero starts out somewhere."

"They seem to think I should start out as an expert," he gladly took it, and I pulled him to his feet.

"The nice thing about Spider-Men is that they have a spirit no other hero can match," I looked to Peter with a smile, "When I first started out, I thought I'd never be able to do it."

"You need to be more honest with yourself about this. He's not ready, it's obvious," Gwen hissed from the circle.

"There's no way. He's just a kid," Noir added.

"But if he can't do this, we have to stay and do it for him."

"Guys, I don't know, maybe we should give him a chance. He was _just_ bitten," Peter was quickly dismissed when he tried to defend Miles.

"He's looking right at us while we talk about him..."

"Mile, I don't think you should listen to them. Peter and I worked with older heroes and they were always-" I stopped talking when I realized Miles was no longer next to me, instead, the platform was raising into the sky.

"See that? He can uh, turn invisible..." Older-Peter offered sheepishly.

It was silent for a few minutes after Miles ran from us. The Spider-Men pressured him too much. The situation was dire, and it required fortitude and skill, but that didn't mean they had to knock Miles down until he couldn't get back up anymore. He wasn't Captain "I can do this all day" America. They were just like the world pressuring Peter and I to become the new Avengers, and Mysterio is what resulted from that pressure.

"We need a new goober," it was May that broke the silence, "Peni-"

"I'm on it," Peni hopped into SP//dr and withdrew into her own little world.

~*~

It was early the next morning that Peni met all of us in May's living room.

"This is purple," Noir fiddled with the Rubik's cube.

"No."

"Blue?"

"No!"

Peni approached and handed Older-Peter the new goober. He hung it around his neck with a lanyard.

"Has anyone heard from Miles?"

"Not like any of us have his number," I shrugged. When all of us took naps the night before, I was plagued with guilt over what happened. He wasn't ready, and we pushed him too hard to be.

"Look, he's just clearing his head. I know the kid. He's got what it takes. I bet you he's going to come back through that door recharged and ready to fight," Older-Peter assured.

"He's like Mile's Tony," I awed. Peter was the only one to understand, so he nodded in agreement while everyone else looked at me in confusion.

Sure enough, Miles stumbled through the door- a wreck and panting like he'd run a marathon. He was still wearing his Spider-Man costume from the night before. Had he even slept at all?

"My uncle!"

"Hey, where have you been, we-"

"My Uncle Aaron, he- he's the Prowler!"

"Ok, slow down. Slow down, Miles," Older-Peter soothed.

"He works for Kingpin, he tried to kill me!"

"This is a pretty hardcore origin story."

I sent the black and white hero a look, "Noir, not the time."

"Were you followed?" Gwen asked urgently.

"No. I don't think so."

Miles was very wrong. _Ding dong._ The door flew to the opposite wall, and in walked a woman with a tentacle back on her back.

"Cute place. Real homey," she mocked.

"Oh great, it's Liv."

"Get out of here kid," Older-Peter prompted Miles. He was the only one who couldn't properly protect himself. Miles tried to run through the kitchen, but was blocked by another man.

"You messed up big time, kid. Very sloppy." Behind that man was another.

"Mira todas estas arañitas."

"Let me guess, you're Scorpion? Well, we're the, uh... Spider-gang, and company," Older-Peter pointed to me and May.

"Would you mind taking this outside?" May requested.

"We don't pick the ballroom we just dance."

"Oh, I think I'll be taking that," the Octopus woman, Liv, sent one of her tentacles to reach out towards Older-Peter and everyone leaped into action.

It was a twelve person fight in a tiny Queens living room. Immediately I cut off one of Liv's tentacles, narrowly stopping her from pinning Older-Peter to the wall. Peter grabbed the goober from around his older counterpart's neck and yelped when Scorpion thrust his stinger toward him. Flipping away to avoid the shot, Peni jumped in in SP//dr and distracted Scorpion.

A sturdy hit from one of Liv's tentacles and the goober was knocked out of Peter's hands and into Miles'. As soon as the goober was in his hand, another villain crashed in through the window. Miles' face paled, and I knew we were looking at his uncle.

"Shit," I jumped to get in between them, but Tombstone was quick to body slam me to the side.

Older-Peter swiftly kicked Miles' uncle through the wall of the house, and it was like everyone had been given permission to take it outside. I pushed Liv out with the largest burst of water I could muster. Following her out, I ducked under a two-for-one shot from her tentacles, narrowly missing a third. But I couldn't dodge the fourth and was knocked to the ground.

"What an interesting hero we have here," Liv mused, leaning in close, "Not bitten by a spider, huh? I wonder what makes you tick. I'll cut you open to find-"

Liv was shoved off of me by a wave of water. But not mine. Jumping to my feet, I gasped when I was met with my counterpart. Her uniform was different, with a giant X across her chest. The X-Men.

"Well, isn't this weird?" She asked with a chuckle, "I'm Tsunami."

"Riptide."

"We'll talk later," she prompted, rushing off into the folds.

Another me. Another me!

Shaking off the sense of déjà vu that looking at her gave me, I joined the fight again as well.

It ended quickly when the gunshot rang out. Just one from a black vehicle on the edge of the street. Said vehicle was quick to speed away when a cop's sirens could be heard.

It wasn't long after the villains vacated that area that we reconvened and Older-Peter told us what happened to Miles' uncle. Unsure of what to do, and aware that the cops would be hot on our trail, May promised to make up a cover story for the attack, and Gwen said she'd lead us to where Miles was.

On the way there, I got to have a conversation with my counterpart. Her name was (Y/n) (L/n) as well. She was a bit younger than I was, and I took to calling her Tsunami to stop things from being confusing. What existed in Miles' world was a completely underground Xavier's. So underground that mutants had been forgotten by the entire world. She's moved to New York with her parents and heard of what happened to Dead-Peter. She was going to get May's blessing to be New York's new hero when the fight broke out.

Honestly, I still couldn't get over the fact that I had a counterpart.

When we arrived at Miles' dorm room, a sketchbook came flying at us through his window. Older-Peter caught it and threw it back. All of us climbed into the small dorm room, a tight, but manageable fit.

"Hey, bud. You okay?" Miles didn't answer, "We've all been there. For me it was my Uncle Ben."

"For me it was my Uncle Benjamin."

"For me it was my father."

"My best friend."

"My mentor," Peter mumbled, and I nodded.

"Miles, the hardest thing about this job is that you can't always save everybody," Ham said the most serious thing I'd heard in the past two days.

"Look, it was my fault. You wouldn't understand."

"Miles, we're the only people in the multiverse who understand exactly what you're going through," I argued, "Being a hero is the hardest thing. It takes determination, not strong powers."

The door handle jiggled. Miles' roommate. All of the Spider-Men jumped onto the wall, and Tsunami and I were picked up by Peter and Noir to remain hidden as well.

Oblivious, the roommate grabbed a comic and began to read, foot on his desk. He took off his headphones and spun in his chair, facing us on the wall with the comic blocking his view.

"That way! That way!"

All of us clumped together and moved in unison to avoid the roommate's gaze. Then the roommate lowered his comic and came face to face with Ham.

"Hey there!" Miles greeted.

"Do animals talk in this dimension? Cause I don't wanna freak him out."

The roommate fainted. Sighing in semi-relief, we all dropped to the ground and Miles pulled his roommate into his bed. While he was doing so, Noir took the lead and stepped out of the window, helping Tsunami out as well. Then went Ham, Peni, and Gwen.

"What's going on?"

"Miles, I came to say goodbye," Older-Peter explained shortly.

"We can say goodbye at the collider."

"You're not getting it. You're staying here."

"I need to be there. So you can all go home," Miles picked the goober off of his desk

"They are going home, Miles. I'm the only one staying."

"You're taking my place? If you stay here, you'll die."

"I'm doing what needs to be done. I just wanted you to hear it from me. I need the goober. Please don't make me take it from you."

"That's not fair! You've gotta tell them I can do this!"

"It wasn't their decision, Miles," I cut in. I had faith in Miles, and with time he'd make a great Spider-Man, but he wasn't ready. That mental determination I mentioned that heroes needed? He didn't have it.

"I gotta make Kingpin pay! You have to let me make him pay! I'm ready, I promise-"

Older-Peter did a combo move, nearly knocking Miles to the ground, if Peter wasn't there to catch him.

"Then venom strike me right now, or turn invisible on command so you can get past him," Older-Peter prompted while Peter kept his strong hold on Mile's shirt. Miles tried, but nothing happened. It only cemented what Older-Peter was saying. "Look, I know how much you want this, kid. But you don't have it yet."

Peter set Miles in a desk chair, and Older-Peter webbed him to the chair, taking the goober from his hand.

"I'm sorry."

"When will I know I'm ready?" Older-Peter webbed his mouth after he asked his question.

"You won't. It's a leap of faith. That's all it is Miles. A leap of faith."

Older-Peter jumped out the window and swung away. Sharing a look with Peter, I sighed and kneeled in front of Miles. I was reminded of when I was stuck in Wakanda, fresh from being thrown in that river in Germany, and my parents told me not what I wanted to hear, but the truth.

"They're right. Sometimes, you can try so hard for something and nothing will happen. You never truly know when you're ready to be a hero. It's a journey. Some days you'll want to stop completely, others you're on top of the world. But in the end, heroes are the ones who do what is right, no matter what everyone else tells you... have faith Miles. I know we have it."

Wrapping an arm around my waist, Peter and I jumped out the window and took off to join the others.


	24. Hand-in-Hand

"Misty, I need you to track down Kingpin's movements. Where's he gonna be tonight?"

_"He's holding a gala in Spider-Man's honor, under his penthouse is the collider. Sending the best route to Wilson Fisk's address."_

"Wilson Fisk is Kingpin? Oh!" I put the pieces together, remembering when the Wilson Fisk in our universe was arrested, and that it was Daredevil behind it. I mentally thanked Matt for doing that, considering how he was wreaking havoc in Miles' world.

"Guys, I have Fisk's location," I called to the front, "He's holding a gala tonight. How do we want to get there?"

"Bus," Older-Peter called back, landed lightly on the street, "Mine as well save some webs."

Bus... couldn't say Peter and I had done that before. But, we took the bus all the same- getting a lot of strange looks on the way. A lot of the day had passed by that point, and the gala had already started when we reached the stop closest to Kingpin's penthouse.

From the streets, we swung to the top of a crane across from the building, took a few more swings to the building, and landed on the glass roof to peek into the party and get a feel for what was happening.

"Kingpin has a private elevator entrance from his penthouse to the collider below," Peni stated. 

Kingpin stood, flanked by guards he walked onto the stage at the front of the party, "Thank you, it's nice to be with you this evening to celebrate SpiderMan. He and I were very close. He was always a favorite of my son. Kids love Spider-Man, right? Still do."

"What a pig," Gwen growled.

"I'm right here," Ham glared.

"Hold on, get a load of how the waiters are dressed. It's in poor taste but-"

All the waiters were dressed like tacky Spider-Men with bowties. Going through my settings on my suit screens, I put in an image of the waiters and set the nanotech to "Water is Clear", a camouflage function. Out of our entire group, I was the only one who could blend in completely. At least the other Spider-Men were accurate though, Tsunami was stuck in her blue and white costume in the middle of the group so we could hide her.

Noir carried a serving tray, Older-Peter and Gwen pushed a large cart which covered SP//dr, and Tsunami was in between me and Peter as we flanked the back with Ham just in front of us.

"And I just want to thank Mary Jane Parker for being here this evening. Our prayers are with you Mrs. Parker."

"MJ?" Older-Peter spotted her in the crowd.

"I know it's sad that he and MJ got divorced in his dimension, but it's still weird that they were married and that she's a red-head," I whispered to Peter.

"Pay attention! It's not the same MJ, Peter," Gwen slapped his arm.

"This will just take one sec. Let me just- Oh!" Older-Peter turned and ran directly into MJ.

"Hello. Um, I just wondered if we could have some more bread at table twelve."

"Yeah! I'm just, I'm really sorry..."

"Oh, don't be sorry. It's just bread."

"No, I wasn't there for you when you needed me. And I didn't even try. I know I could do better if I just had another chance to give you... the bread that you deserve."

"We'll get that bread to you right away," I pushed Older-Peter out of the way and covered up Older-Peter's lapse in judgment.

"Thanks."

Gwen and I each put a hand on Peter's arm and pulled him away, through the service door that led to the kitchen and Kingpin's personal elevator. Sneaking through the halls, the Spiders webbed every guard we came across on the way.

When we stopped on the ceiling above Kingpin's office, the Spiders webbed the bodyguards that followed him. Noir shot a web that held open the elevator shaft, allowing us to slide down.

"Secondary ignition in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1."

The collider fired just as we entered the room, making our way through all the construction sets until we reached the catalyst area. Tsunami and I exchanged tired looks. Such a high-roofed, wide-set room would be a pain to move around in without the webbing abilities that all the Spider-Men had.

"Peter, you don't have to stay behind. I can do it," Gwen offered.

"It's okay. I've made up my mind." As everyone else swung to the ceiling, Tsunami and I used blobs of water to hold our bodies in place as we moved across, "I'll put the goober in and take over the beam. After you're gone, I'll blow it up. Good luck, guys."

Older-Peter crawled to the center of the room, where the control panel was. He pulled the panel off, but before he could insert the key, Gwen whispered, "They know we're here."

"Nice to see you again, Peter," Liv emerged from the ceiling, slamming Older-Peter away from the panel.

When we rushed to help Older-Peter, we were surrounded by the rest of Kingpin's henchmen. Throwing up an ice wall in front of myself, I shot my hands forward and threw my body to the platform where the majority of the agents were shooting at us. Tsunami landed right behind me and back to back we each took a side and easily took out every agent on the platform by either freezing them or throwing them off.

"Ah!" I screamed in pain when my body glitched.

"I got you," Tsunami was quick to step in front of me, taking over both sides while I caught my breath.

"Good, I'm good," I pushed myself up, "Let's finish this quickly."

Facing the final agents on our side, I curled my hand into a fist. They all stiffened, and with a jerk to the side, they all fell to the ground unconscious.

"How did you do that?" Tsunami questioned.

"Water in the body equals water we can control," I shrugged, shaking off the last bits of discomfort my morals felt from doing such a thing. Beck was wrong, and he'd always be wrong.

"Hey, look who's here!" Ham suddenly yelled.

Spider-Man, in a spray painted black and red suit, "Miles!"

He did it. He was doing everything on command, and really well too. His big moment must have happened, and not a moment too soon either.

Tsunami and I parted after that. I moved on to help Peter with his own section of thugs, yelling over all the surrounding noise to tell him that Miles had arrived and that everything was hopefully back on track.

Things got even crazier when the little box rose into the beam. _That_ was the catalyst. After that, the tremors grew even larger. Different New Yorks began popping out of the portal, colliding together within the room.

"Let's go up," I pointed to the ceiling where Gwen, Miles, and Gwen were congregated.

When we reached the top, Tsunami stopped next Miles, "Hi. I'm (Y/n)."

"Miles."

Peter and I exchanged uncomfortable looks. We knew what those tones meant. It was just as weird as the other Peters marrying red-head MJ.

"We gotta get back up there. Shouldn't be too hard-"

Peter swung to the side as Liv threw a bus at us. Together, the six of us worked hand in hand to take down Liv, dodging when the others were striking, and striking when the others were dodging. It was a dream team of heroes that knew exactly what we were thinking.

Suddenly, one of Liv's tentacles hit Tsunami hard, and she fell back toward the beam. Miles dropped down after her, a hero without hesitation. The four of us who remained to fight Liv stopped for a split second to admire the scene proudly. Now I knew what Tony felt like whenever Peter and I did something right.

"Front, back, twice!" Older-Peter called back.

Our team split into pairs. Peter and I hit her in the front, and Gwen and Older-Peter got her from the back. With a steady punch to the face from each of us, she fell back and caught herself between two buildings.

"Buckle up guys, this is gonna take a while," Gwen prompted when she made her way back up.

_Honk, honk!_

It took no time at all for Liv to be hit by a bus. All of us winced in pain, but our sympathies quickly dissipated when Miles swung back up with Tsunami on his arm.

"I got this," Miles shared a nod with Tsunami.

"I'll go. I'm the one with the goo-"

Tsunami held it up having pickpocketed it, "Learned that from Logan. Let's go, Miles!"

"Don't watch the mouth. Watch the hands."

With that, Miles shot off a web and smoothly maneuvered his way through the chaos in the room. It was perfect, and Tsunami was there to watch his back when something got a little too close.

"We taught him that, right?" Older-Peter asked in awe.

"I didn't teach him that. And you definitely didn't."

"Guys! I got control of the beam! Get up here!"

Our group swung up to the panel, joining Miles as he coordinated the portal.

"Guess this is it."

"Well, nice to know we're not alone," Peni smiled.

All of us shared sad looks. We wanted to go home, but parts of us wanted to stay.

Miles twisted the goober, "I got the portal open. You first Peni."

"Thank you, Miles. From both of us." She jumped into the beam. Miles punched in another code and looked to Noir.

"I, uh, love you all," he held up the Rubik's cube, "I'm taking this cube thing with me. I don't understand it, but, I will."

Ham held up a huge mallet, "I want you to have this. It'll fit in your pocket." Miles took it, "That's all folks." He jumped.

"Is he allowed to say that? Legally?"

Us next. I nudged Miles' shoulder gently, "Never forget to do the right thing, no matter what the world says. You have a good heart, and that's what makes a hero."

"You're gonna do great things," Peter added, "Better than us." There was Peter's parallel to Tony. I would have cried if we weren't in such a hurry to get home.

"Bye guys," we grabbed each other's hands and jumped.

In the portal, we had more time to observe our surroundings. It was very blue and red, but there was something else. Little comics of everyone, and there was ours.

_Our names are (Y/n) (L/n) and Peter Parker, and for years, we've been Spider-Man and Riptide. Our universe may have a lot more heroes than others, but we wouldn't change it for the world. We've never been alone, but now, we have people who understand us more than anyone else. Leaving them was hard, but hand in hand, we can take on the world._

~*~

We woke up on the same rooftop we got sucked into the different universe on. Sitting up, we shared relieved laughs and a hug. Looking down at my body, I was relieved to find that I looked like a normal person again, not a hyper-realistic cartoon.

"We're back!"

"Misty-"

_"It's been around twenty hours. It's current sunset of the next day. Time worked differently in the other dimension."_

"Thank god. Misty said it's only been around a day, so no one has missed us much."

Standing, we looked across the rooftop and gasped in realization. We were so caught up in our excitement to be home, that we completely forgot about why we were there in the first place. Harry!

Peter swung us across to his roof, and the door leading inside was unlocked. Stepping cautiously inside the home, we called out Harry's name. There was no answer. We continued to explore the dark house, looking for any signs of life, but there was nothing. Bernard had retired during the school year, and Harry had been left alone.

Alone. Was that the cause of everything? Peter and I had gone through our own journeys to realize we didn't have to go through anything alone, but Harry didn't have that. He didn't meet his interdimensional counterparts and realize that no matter how alone he felt, there'd always be someone _somewhere_ who'd understand. He didn't have that.

"Holy shit. (Y/n) get over here," Peter called me into Norman's old study.

"Oh my god."


	25. The Break

The walls were covered in pictures. Press pictures of me and Peter, of us in our civilian forms, of Norman, and of blueprints for the Green Goblin suit. What made my heart stop was the realization that every picture of Peter was somehow adjusted. Marks over his face, a red x, scratched out by a knife.

_"There's a hidden doorway behind the bookshelf, push it out of the way to enter."_

Following Misty's instructions and map laid out on my screens, I easily pushed the bookshelf out of the way. It was on wheels. Waving Peter over, he followed behind me as we walked through the pitch-black hall and emerged in a lab only comparable to that of Dr. Frankenstein. Never had I seen anything quite so ominous, and that was hard to do considering my line of work.

And in the middle of all the equipment, papers, and discarded metals, was Harry. But it wasn't the clean-cut Harry that Peter and I were used to. He was dressed in a suit similar to that of Green Goblin's in almost every way. But - and I hated to say it - it was more Harry. More his style, his own design. He created that suit himself, for what reason I didn't want to imagine.

"Harry?" I shoved Peter back toward the hallway, jerking my head in a frantic motion so he would understand. He nodded, and hurried back, closing the door behind him. Peter would set him off long before I would. We needed him calm so we could talk things through.

Peter got back into the hallway just in the nick of time, too. Harry spun around, greeting me with a half-smile and bloodshot eyes. From lack of sleep or crying I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was both.

"Where were you?" He asked, a dangerous edge to his voice when he finally addressed my presence.

"Space," I answered quickly, knowing that any hesitation would make him think I was lying, "That's why I didn't get your calls. I'm sorry, Harry. I would have been here sooner if I could have."

"You're here now," Harry rushed forward, and I flinched when he grabbed my arm, relaxing when I realized he was just leading me somewhere, "I have so many things to show you."

"Harry, what's going on? You sounded upset on your call, and when we- I got here, you were dressed up like the Green Goblin."

Stopping, Harry's grip on my arm tightened, "My head stopped splitting when I put it on. It's not better, but it's not worse. I can think for myself."

"Why was your head splitting? Harry, you need to talk to me."

Harry gave me an award-winning smile in response and sat me down on a bench facing an open window. He moved to stand behind me, both of his hands on my shoulders. He was keeping me from running away. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"I understand now. You want a man with power. That's what I've been missing. But I have it now."

"Harry-"

"So I fixed my father's things. I made them better. I've created tech that can track and eliminate people easily using Beck's drones and Hydra's formulas from when they took down SHIELD."

As he explained the process, my chest tightened as said drones rose up to the window. There were only three, but something told me that more were hiding somewhere. They were small, circular robots, obviously high-tech.

"Harry-"

"Now you can stop being Riptide and stop dating Peter, and we can be together again. Just like we were back then. Don't you remember how happy we were? Before _he_ got in the way?"

My stomach dropped when I realized- "So... everything you've done is because of me? The anger, Beck, _this_ , is because of me?"

My suspicions about the trial made sense. Beck didn't reveal my name because he was working for Harry, and Harry didn't want me hurt. Although Beck had no problems with trying to kill me. Likely, another member of his team made the video with the tech, and they were more inclined to follow their boss's wishes with the hope that they would be rewarded when all was said and done.

Scowling, Harry's mood darkened dramatically, "Beck was never supposed to hurt you, but it's been taken care of. His entire team has been dealt with. I brought them together to show the world that Spider-Man is nothing but a false hero who murdered my father."

"That's why you're so upset he was acquitted," I whispered in realization. He wanted Peter to rot, because being put away for Beck would be justice for his father as well. When he was acquitted, it was like his father's killer had walked free- not only that, but Peter and I were hailed as public heroes now. _Real_ heroes, not vigilantes.

"He has to pay," Harry roared, calming when I jumped, "Just... be mine, (Y/n). You aren't tied to him as a hero anymore."

"Our relationship isn't based on Spider-Man and Riptide, Harry, I thought you knew that. It's based on trust, and respect, and love. This right here, it's toxic. You're scaring me."

Laughing maniacally, Harry's gaze hardened, " _I'm_ scaring _you_? Rich coming from someone with your history. All I wanted to do was have you accept me!"

Harry stood and paced frantically. Nervous with how things had gone downhill, I tried to appease him.

"I love you Harry, and you need help-"

"I'm fine," Harry's eyes settled on the empty spot next to me, "Shut up. Shut up! Shut up! You told me this would work! You've always been wrong!"

"Harry," my voice trembled in fear, "Please."

"Make him stop," Harry knelt down in front of me, clutching my head like a lifeline, "Please! He's dead, he should be dead, but he won't leave me alone. I just want to be left alone..."

"Who?"

"My father!"

My heart stopped. He was seeing his father? That's why he was so conflicted the past two years. His head had been splitting. His complicated relationship with his father didn't help either. He literally had a devil on his shoulder. _That_ was him looking over my shoulder, whispering to himself, and gathering Beck to take down Peter.

"Harry," I stood and approached him as if he was a wounded animal, "I can help you. If you would just come with me."

Lurching back when a gloved hand snatched up my wrist, I swallowed my nerves. I'd been through worse situations, and I'd emerged with my head held high. But Harry wasn't Thanos, or Beck, or even his father. He was our friend, a genius, and undeniably unstable. A dangerous concoction that was affecting judgment and base "no weakness" instincts.

"Just- just," Harry stumbled over his words, pausing so he could find them, "Why?"

I couldn't answer. Mostly because I wasn't sure _what_ he wanted an answer for. Not only that, but I wouldn't have a good answer even if I knew.

"We can help you, Harry. I know someone. She helped age me back. Her mutation has to deal with the mind. She can help you."

"I'm sorry. You're allowed to move on. I shouldn't be doing this- stop! You've been whispering in my ear for two years and I'm sick of it!"

Grabbing his face to keep his eyes on me, I slapped on a mask of calm, hoping it would carry over. It was useless. He was still switching between anger at Peter, his father, the world, and sadness over the exact same things.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. We'll figure this out together."

"I don't want to be what he was," Harry whispered, eyes full of tears. It was such a manic episode that I wasn't sure how I was keeping up.

"You don't have to-"

"Get down!" Harry shoved me out of the way as one of the drones flew into the room and shot out a small explosive.

Spinning around, I gasped when I saw Peter dive out of the way of the touch-activated grenade. When it hit the ground, it went off with a deafening boom, setting off fires and destroying the far side of the room.

"What? Were you trying to ambush me?" Harry screamed angrily, switching away from his sadness, "Getting my guard down so I wouldn't notice? This was all a ploy so you could lock me up, wasn't it?"

Petrified, I jumped to defend myself, desperate to diffuse the situation and salvage his sanity, "No of course not! I would never do that-"

"That bastard killed my father. An eye for an eye, isn't that how you heal? Isn't that how this works?"

Instead of gearing up for another attack, Harry summoned his literal hoverboard and flew out the window, gone into the night. Both of us knew that it wasn't the end, however, he'd be back. For Peter, for me, for both of us- the answer was unclear. But in every scenario, he came back.

"I'm so sorry! Karen told me that Misty said your heart rate and blood pressure were going up so I assumed he hurt you or something."

"It's okay. Something tells me we wouldn't have been able to get him to Xavier's anyway. Let's go home and get some sleep. I doubt he'll do anything tonight... MJ's dating the police commissioner's daughter, right? Talk to her about getting an APB out for a copycat Green Goblin."

"Sure. What are you gonna do?"

"Text Jean. I don't know how her powers work with mental illnesses, but she should be able to do something. I can't wait to tell my parents about everything that's happened."

"Yeah, May's gonna freak. I'll take you home."

Peter and I kept an eye out for Harry, but he was nowhere to be seen. He'd vanished. We grabbed our bags from the Wakandan quinjet and set the coordinates for Shuri's lab, trusting the autopilot to take it back. Kissing Peter goodnight, I prayed that Harry would hold off attacking the city for at least another eight hours.

"How was Wakanda?" My mom asked when I stepped through the front door.

"We went to space so I could have closure with Thanos. Then Harry snapped and on our way to see if he was okay we got sucked into another dimension where we were stuck for three days. When we got back, Harry became the new Green Goblin and tried to kill Peter."

Blinking one, twice, my mother was speechless. My dad took it upon himself to speak from the living room.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"After a shower. I feel disgusting."

Making my way to the bathroom, my suit condensed into a bracelet. Stripping off my clothes, I sighed when I was hit with a hot stream of water. In the other dimension I'd been able to shower, but it wasn't the same as being home and doing so. Under the water, I had the time to process everything that had happened. Closing the door on Thanos- allowing me to shower without zeroing in on my modifications- getting sucked into another dimension- where we learned from them and they learned from us- and Harry finally breaking from the pressure that he'd placed on himself.

Overwhelmed by everything that had taken place, tears welled up in my eyes. I ran my hand over my face every time they were too close to spilling.

When I was finished, I discarded my dirty clothes and settled in my room in my most comfortable pajamas. Five minutes later, my parents knocked on the door. Calling them in, they sat on my bed- cautious, concerned.

"We know you want to sleep, but talking things out first would be nice."

"No pressure. We're here no matter what you do or don't say."

In response, I promptly broke down in their arms.


	26. The Hobgoblin

After a good night of sleep, I was unsure what to do the next day. Peter and I could go on patrol for the entire day, but since both of us had suits that would easily form in a crisis - him in his Iron-Spider, mine my Riptide suit from Tony - there was no point in stressing ourselves like that.

So we took to the original group chat and organized a catch-up at Starbucks. Within an hour of sending the text; Ned, MJ, Peter, and I were set to meet at the nearest Starbucks.

Informing my parents of the plan, I took the elevator to the main lobby. There, I was pleasantly surprised to see Jess at the main counter. Since her and Via got married, she had been working the front desk less and less. The only reason she continued after she got the manager position was because she wanted to stay close with all the tenants. But she was married, and her and Via were focusing on the newlywed life, and Jess was getting more and more work as the manager. It made sense for her to pull back, no matter how sad it made me to not see her as often.

"Jess!" I practically leaped over the desk to hug her, "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too. Via says hi, she wishes she could have come in with me to help out, but she had a meeting with her charity directors today she couldn't avoid. It was for the one in Sokovia dealing with homelessness."

"It's fine. Not all of us can run multiple charities and see our friends at the same time," I joked, ever-impressed with how much good Via was doing for the world. Not all heroes wear capes- in a figurative sense since neither Peter nor I ever wore a cape, "How's the newlywed life?"

"Good! She's the best thing ever, besides you Short-Stack. What about you? I'm sorry I missed the trial after what happened with Beck, I was in South Africa. But I could have been a good character witness. Secretaries hear everything."

"Peter was acquitted, that's what matters. And I get it, you're all over the world saving lives now. I'm just happy you could be here today. Will you be visiting more?"

"Hopefully. Via's biggest travel time of the year is over, so we'll be able to stay in New York more. How are you faring with being a public hero?"

"Well, after the trial, Peter and I didn't leave our apartments very often unless it was for patrols or to go to Wakanda, so we haven't had to face the public a lot. But, I'm ready to handle giving out pictures and to deal with fans and haters and stuff. Mutants deal with that in general anyway. Being a hero is just another layer to it."

Nodding, Jess hummed thoughtfully, "This is probably really good, honestly. It means you can speak more openly about mutant rights. The general public listened to the Avengers, and now that you're technically one, it'd be pretty easy to speak out about it and get more awareness."

I hadn't thought of that before, but it'd be nice to have so much influence over something I thought so passionately about. When I was about to respond, my phone buzzed in my purse, drawing my attention.

"I've got to go meet the group. I'll see you later Jess," I waved goodbye and walked out of the building, taking the short trek to the Starbucks where we agreed to meet.

Already waiting was Ned, MJ, Peter, and a new arrival; Gwen Stacy. Similar to other dimension Gwen in her fiery attitude and confidence; far from her in her lack of spider powers. She didn't look like a cartoon, either- not that anyone did in our home dimension.

"Any news on Harry?" I asked after getting my drink and sitting down in the last open seat at the table.

"No. It'd be better if you guys talked to him yourselves, too. He's always been against small-time vigilantes, but since you're official Avengers now, he'll listen. It's that way for a lot of the force."

"We know, Gwen," Peter sighed tiredly. I could tell he didn't get a lot of sleep, fretting about Harry just like I had been.

"It's just easier if you're the one to do it. We're... busy."

"Dealing with Harry?" MJ already knew the answer, "Why not put an APB on Harry himself? He's probably not walking on the streets in his Hobgoblin uniform."

"Us ruining Norman's reputation is what spiraled him the first time. And now that everything is so public surrounding us, it'd be even worse for Harry. We want to help him, not ruin his life. He hasn't hurt anyone."

"Yet," Ned said what all of us were thinking.

Right on cue, a small trio of kids approached us - late elementary, early middle school age by the look of it. They were chattering nervously, and I picked up on what they wanted quickly.

"Can we get a picture?" One of the two boys asked.

"Of course," Peter and I got behind them and smile for the camera.

Peter got roped into a debate about who the best DC hero was, so I turned to the girl. Our first official picture as outed heroes. I wasn't going to mess it up.

"What's your name?"

"Charli."

"And who's your favorite hero, Charli?"

"Scarlet Witch."

I laughed at her bluntness. I liked her honesty, "And why is she your favorite?"

"Because even though she made some mistakes, she's still a hero. She taught me it's okay to mess up as long as you make things right."

"That's very true. Every hero makes mistakes, but it's fixing them and learning from them that's important."

The group retreated to their moms at a corner booth. While Ned fanboyed - "You're celebrities. And I'm friends with you!" - another person tugged my sleeve. Assuming it was another fan asking for a picture, I turned with a smile.

"Norman?"

"Get out now, (Y/n). This is your last warning."

"What?"

_Smash!_

As soon as the window shattered, Peter was on top of the drone that flew through. Laughter, just like Norman's flooded into the cafe. It was Harry's lament.

Tapping the bracelet on my wrist, I spun around and sent an icicle through Norman's heart. Immediately, the illusion fell, and a broken drone was in his place.

"Everyone out!" I yelled, watching the civilians closely as they scrambled out of the back exit. All of them exited safely, which meant Harry was after us and only us. Bad for us, good for them.

Peeking behind the counter, I spotted Ned, MJ, and Gwen hiding behind it. Smarter than waiting around for further orders.

"What do you want us to do?" Ned yelled over the sounds of small explosions behind me.

"Ned, I need you to call Jean or Wanda, maybe both. Tell them we need them here, _now_. I'll send you their numbers. Gwen and MJ, talk to Commissioner Stacy. We need the police to keep civilians away, but they _can't_ interfere with this. Now go!"

The group scrambled to get away through the back exit, and once they were at a safe distance, I went to join Peter on the other side of the counter. He was in the middle of thickly webbing a circular bomb. Harry, on the other hand, was cackling as he pulled out another one.

"Harry, this needs to stop!"

Yelping, I ducked under the explosive he was holding. Quickly freezing it solid, it exploded and sent ice chunks through the room.

"What happened to all the strength you pretend to have?" Harry tilted his head innocently, "Such a _strong_ woman, who's survived hell. What happened to _her_ , huh?"

Our Harry was gone, that much was clear. So much time alone with himself the night before had shattered what remained of the true him. In his place, was something worse. Something similar to his father and his very own at the same time. Not the Green Goblin, but-

"I call myself the Hobgoblin. Interesting name, isn't it? Just like the father you took away from me."

I couldn't say how long the fight in the Starbucks lasted. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes? Long enough for a swarm of reporters to gather around the police barricade, and long enough for Harry to burn three holes in my suit that the nanotech had to rush to replace.

Finally, just when I thought there'd be a reprieve, Harry sighed, dropped one final bomb - bigger than the others - and flew out of the cafe.

"Bug-Boy, get out, now!" I realized the direness of the situation and dove over the counter and to the back storage kitchen. Sprinting towards the door, I screamed when a sudden forced shoved me through the door, a deafening boom running through my ears.

Landing on my stomach, I groaned in pain. Though, I knew the pain could have been a lot worse if I was in my former suit. Tony's tech and Shuri's vibranium were life savers.

"Misty-"

_"No major injuries, only slight bruising. After this battle, I'd recommend repairing the nanotech. Shuri Udaku has access to such technology. I can contact-"_

"Misty tell me where Peter is!" I all but screeched, looking around the rooftops closest to me. Worst case scenarios ran through my mind. It was never good when we were separated, Beck was a prime example of that.

_"Tracking his location now... After the explosion, Peter pulled Harry away from the civilians to avoid casualties. Mapping."_

In the short amount of time I had taken to recover, Peter had led Harry to the nearest flat building. Both to minimize the damage caused by his explosions, and to minimize the chance of civilian harm.

Pushing down my pain and getting to my feet, I launched myself up to the nearest building with a burst of water. I easily spotted the fight from the higher angle. My annoyance rose when I noticed a news chopper circling the scene. Wasn't there something more interesting to cover?

The fight wasn't fun, and I certainly didn't want to jump back in. But I did so anyway. I rolled under a bomb and used a burst of water to send it high enough in the air that it wouldn't harm the building. Making my way over to Peter, I tapped his arm frantically, motioning to the helicopter above us.

"We got to lead him away," I hissed, "Those idiots think it's smart to fly above us when the villain we're fighting against can fly too. If he wants, he could attack-"

Diving out of the way, Peter and I jumped back into action when Harry didn't take the time to allow us a little pow-wow. But I had made my point, and Peter understood. So he took the lead in luring Harry away by swinging off of the building we were on East. Pretty quickly I put the pieces together. He was going back to our first battle site. Coney Island, more specifically the beach running along it. Conveniently for us, the theme park was closed so we'd have no problems with civilians.

Harry didn't try to attack us too much while we were leading him away, likely because it'd be difficult to while he was so new to the Hobgoblin suit and all of us we in the air.

On the beach, we could continue our fight without fear of damaging anything, and passing through/under so many buildings and structures on the island had allowed us to lose the helicopter.

The screens behind my mask beeped with a voicemail. Automatically, it played, _"I called Jean and Wanda. Jean said she's busy and Wanda's voicemail said something about exploring pocket realities."_

Ducking under Harry's board, I swore, "Misty text Ned and tell him I'm thankful that he'd tried. Then call Jean."

The call went through, "Jean, when I said I needed your help with something, I meant it!"

_"Sorry, (Y/n). We're at a genetic testing lab trying to-"_

"I don't give a shit about what you're doing right now, okay?" I ducked behind a small bathroom building so I could talk in peace, "Let the others handle it. Peter and I can't do this on our own, and if one more person expects us to save the world then I'll turn into a villain. Get your ass to New York and take ten minutes out of your precious time to help us handle this... hello?"

_"The signal was interrupted. I cannot pinpoint how much she heard, I apologize."_

"Of course you can't," stepping into the warzone again, I sighed, "Something tells me it's gonna be a long night."


	27. Baby Monitor Protocol

An hour and a half had passed.

My exhaustion was through the roof. I could tell Peter was the same way. Harry was harder to tell because of his mask. But he had run out of bombs thirty minutes before and resorted to flying high and swooping down. Similarly, according to Misty and her constant communication with Karen, Peter was almost out of webs.

We should have finished the fight twenty minutes after the Starbucks explosion, but we were failing as heroes. The reason? Harry was our friend.

I was always against the idea that love made you weak. More than once, it was my loved ones that allowed me to be a good hero. But god, it felt impossible to hurt someone I loved so much. Someone who had so much good in them, who was just lost. And for that, Peter and I were paying the price.

"We need to end this," I mumbled, knowing Peter would hear it through the com, "I'm going to bloodbend him like I should have an hour ago. We'll take him straight to Xavier's and wait for Jean or the Professor if we have to. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Three... two..."

_Thud!_

"One?"

Harry's body laid limp on the ground. Cautiously approaching, we pulled off his mask. Breathing. Pale, sweaty, but breathing.

_I apologize for my tardiness, but Jean was having trouble getting through to me. Kurt should be arriving soon to take you to the school._

_Bamph_

"Oh, this looks awful," Kurt mused, observing the glass formed from the heat of the explosions that'd been set off, "Let's get you to the school."

Each of us put a hand on Kurt's shoulders, while he held onto Harry. We teleported away from the battle site, all of our hard work amounting to nothing with a simple thought from the Professor's mind.

Upon arriving at the school, we were crowded by kids. All of them screamed our names, or rather, they screamed "Mr. Parker, Miss. (Y/n)!" They remembered us. Even aged back, we still looked like their old teachers. The teachers all of them loved and related to more than any others, because we _were_ them.

"Hi!" We greeted out former students with as much cheer as our tired bodies could muster. The age similarity between us all was strange, especially with the oldest kids, but that didn't change the foundations of our relationship with them.

A gentle hand landed on my shoulder, "(Y/n)." It was Jean, just as tired as we were, still in uniform, "Come on."

Up the stairs, and through the school. When walking through the hall, I paused when a tiny hand wrapped around my wrist. Despite her unassuming stature, my heart stopped when I saw Mina staring up at me with her classic wide eyes. She'd been the sweetest little girl when we were teaching, but I would never forget her prophecy. I looked at her and saw Tony, the man who deserved to live more than any of the people he brought back, dying for us all.

"Mina?" I breathed out.

"The battle will be won and the mind shall heal. Your journey shall not end nor will you tire. Bells and songs shall ring true. Forever mortal, never forgotten."

With that, she moved on, and I rushed to catch up with Peter and Jean to go down to the X-Men base. There, Jean, who'd been carrying Harry using her telekinesis, laid him down on the table in the medical room. Once he was settled, Jean sighed, running a hand through her mussed hair.

"I'm sorry. It seems like every time you need us, we aren't there. We say that you'll be fine on your own, but the X-Men work as a team. It's hypocritical. We should be there for you, no matter what."

"It's okay, Jean."

"No, it's not. But that's why I'm here now, to show you that you can count on us. So what's wrong with your friend?"

"His dad died while fighting against me. Harry blames me for it."

"We think there's probably some underlying problems, too. Schizophrenia or psychosis most likely," I added, thinking of all the times Harry had seen his father since he'd been buried.

Placing a hand on either side of his head, Jean hummed in concentration. When she seemed to find what she was looking for, she spoke again.

"Mental illnesses are focused more on brain structure and chemical compounds than the actual thought process. Because of that, I can't do much. However, I _can_ mess around with his perception of what happened. It's much less dangerous than locking away his memories. If anything, this is the safest way to do things. Locking away his memories would be too much of a risk."

"What do you need?"

"Do you have any footage of what happened? Some context would be nice before I mess around with what he thinks he's seen."

"I had cameras in my suit, but Norman tore off my mask... Karen, what do you mean the cameras aren't in the mask? What do you mean there's footage of what actually happened? The Baby Monitor Protocol is a priority function? You- you never showed me because I never asked?" Peter was silent for a few seconds, "You're definitely one of Tony's AI's."

From the spider of Peter's suit came a projection of what actually happened the night that Norman Osborn died. It was brutal, even if I couldn't see Peter I knew he was severely injured by his breathing. When Peter jumped over the hoverboard, I winced and turned away. Peter had to bear witness to Norman's death, I didn't want to do the same.

"Good. Just give me a minute," Jean placed a hand on either side of Harry's head, eyes closing in concentration as she did her work.

"Please work," I whispered, refusing to acknowledge what we'd have to do if it didn't, what we'd have to do to contain Harry and make sure he never harmed anyone again- what he'd have to do in order to pay for what he did, and what he'd continue to want to do.

After a few egregiously painful minutes, Jean stepped back and Harry opened his eyes. Both Peter and I jumped to assume defensive positions. He didn't move. He blinked blearily, his eyes taking time to focus and adjust to the light.

"I'm sorry," he whispered when he finally focused in on us, breaking down.

Rushing to his side, Peter and I were quick to comfort him. He repeated his apologies until Peter and I forced him into a group hug. It was nice to hear him say he was sorry, to hear that he felt guilty. It meant there was hope, something to go off of for future progress.

"You tried to kill us," I mumbled bluntly, in shock and finally able to process the day's events.

"I know. I was angry about a man who never even said he loved me. But he died because of his own choices, and I almost went down the same path. I've tried so hard to not be the man my father was, and that's exactly what I became."

I sent Jean an impressed look. She was good- something I always knew. First removing Thanos from my head, then the anger from Harry's

"It wasn't just his or your choices that led to this, Harry. You know that, right?"

Nodding absently, Harry sighed, "I'll start seeing someone, get medication, anything to help... can you do something for me, Pete? As a hero?"

"Of course."

"Can you try to forgive me?"

There, in my old home base, we pulled Harry into another hug. Jean was in the corner, the other X-Men were likely waiting outside, and our friends and family were texting- but it was okay. Because we did more than save the day, we proved to ourselves that everything would be okay.

**One Month Later**

"Do you know how weird it is to see my speeches on the news? Not Riptide, but (Y/n) (L/n). It's great that Congress is finally doing something about mutant's rights, but it's still weird that _I'm_ the main reason for it."

Everyone at the table agreed quietly. Motioning to the hanging TV at the bar across from us, MJ commented, "You're like the Greta Thunberg of mutant rights. Iconic. Social change is one of my favorite things."

Chuckling, I sighed. Ned turned to Peter, "How do you like freelancing?"

"It's nice. People really like the shots I can get," Peter had taken to using his photography skills for his own online store. One that had become outrageously popular in recent months as word got around about it. Peter tweeting about it on his "Official Spider-Man Page" helped as well.

"What about you two? How are your jobs going?"

"Buzzfeed is awesome!" Ned beamed, bursting to talk about his paid internship, "Everyone is super cool, and since I'm only writing and programming for them, it'll work around our school hours when it starts again. Peter, (Y/n), you _have_ to do a video with them."

Peter and I shared a look but knew Ned wouldn't drop it. It'd put a popular news outlet on our side and would be good for our general popular image. Something that had been very positive in recent months, thanks to a lot of good work on our part.

"Sure," we answered hesitantly. Immediately, Ned pulled out his phone and began rapidly texting someone. We'd probably do the video within the next week.

"What about you, MJ?"

"The station is fine. They're thinking of transferring me to the Nine-Nine to intern under the detectives there. It's a weird precinct, but I'd do well there all things considered. Detective Diaz is cool."

"Sorry I'm late, guys. My appointment ran long and traffic sucked."

It didn't take a lot of convincing to get Harry into both therapy and on the proper medications after he turned into the Hobgoblin and Jean fixed his mind. He was aware of the changes he had to make and wasn't afraid to make them. All of us were eager to put his darkest days behind us and move on to a new chapter where we could be a group with normal problems- like fighting over whose house to meet up at, though we often chose Harry's due to the space.

It was nice, having some simplicity in our lives after Harry's mental state stabilized. There were no friends trying to kill us, no crazy villains who knew way too much about our fears, and no world-threatening events. That didn't mean such a thing would never happen again, but at least for a short time, we could enjoy our lives as teenagers with some extra powers, and a side job.

"No big deal, Har, we pulled over a seat for you. We got some appetizers, too."

"Traitors," Harry accused jokingly, settling in his chair, "You guys ready for school in two weeks? It's our senior year!"

All of us simultaneously groaned at the thought. Handling random fans was hard enough, I couldn't imagine being surrounded by them all the time. I wondered if we could just drop out and go back to teaching at Xavier's like we did after the initial snap. It would be a lot easier than going through another year of school.

"I feel like we've been in highschool for ten years."

 _Ping._ A text from Wade.

_Actually, you've been in highschool for a total of forty-nine chapters, not counting prologues, epilogues, or when you were older._

Another text.

_Thank the author because it was a lot of work figuring this out._

Rolling my eyes, I tuned back into the conversation as it swayed towards college. I'd blocked Wade's number twice before accepting my fate and letting him bug me when he wanted to break the fourth wall.

Screams erupted from the street. From those screams came a speeding van, guns pointed and shooting at the cop cars chasing after it. A robbery of some sort most likely. Just as the situation sunk in, the waiter approached with a tray full of the appetizers we ordered. They were steaming and smelled delicious.

"Save us some?" Peter asked as we stood, both of our suits enveloping our bodies.

"No promises," our three closest friends smiled mischievously.

Shaking my head, I turned to Peter, "Let's get this over with quickly, Bug-Boy."

"I couldn't agree more, Blue."


	28. Epilogue

I'd battled mad titans, aliens, geniuses, crazed villains, and that guy who wanted to be a kangaroo. But none of that battles could face up to the anxiety I was currently facing.

"I'm gonna throw up, that's it. I'm done for. I'm gonna throw up all over my dress, then on Peter, and we'll be doomed to lives of misery."

The girls around me laughed in disbelief, having dealt with two previous meltdowns earlier that day, "You know that isn't going to happen."

"Here, liquid courage," Jess shoved a shot glass into my hand.

Without hesitation I tipped it back, focusing on the burn in my throat rather than my nerves. It worked. For a minute, that is.

"Honey, everything will be okay," My mom put a hand on my shoulder, "I was this way before I married your dad. We've been married for 25 years and we couldn't be happier."

"Right. It's fine. It's fine. Totally... totally okay."

"Shortest meltdown ever," MJ moved around me, adjusting things as she saw fit, "All of us always knew you would marry Peter someday. We all know you're going to be that couple that everyone secretly hates because you're perfect. That's how the world sees you already. This is just some paperwork and another ring on your finger."

All of the girls - my mom, Jess, Morgan, MJ, and Shuri - nodded in agreement. The X-Women claimed they were "too old" and settled for just being invited rather than being bridesmaids. Personally, I thought they just didn't want to deal with the hangovers that'd result from the bachelorette party because god, they were awful.

_Knock. Knock._

Ned poked his head in, a bright smile on his face, "You guys ready? It's time to walk."

In response we all filed out of the room, "(Y/n), Peter's gonna freak when he sees you. I've been shipping this for over five years. No other ship becoming canon will live up to this day. Thank you for this opportunity."

Laughing quietly, I lagged behind to give the rest of the group time to go in with their assigned partners. Then I met my dad in front of the doors leading to the banquet hall.

"Oh my god," he whispered, immediately tearing up when he got a good look at me, "I made you! This was all me!"

"Weird thing to say, but alright," I took his arm, laughing to hold back my tears. I sat in a chair for forty minutes getting my makeup done. I was not about to have it ruined.

We stepped through the already open double doors. The congregation stood and faced us. They were neither Peter's family nor mine. They were _our_ family. X-Men, Avengers, Guardians, Matt Murdock, Eddie Brock plus Venom, blood relations, a few celebrities, and friends we picked up on the way. Using an invention by Shuri, we sucked our inter-dimensional friends over as well. It was all perfect. Except for Wade sobbing in the corner.

Then I saw Peter. I'd seen him in a suit several times before. For proms, formal events, awards ceremonies, and other weddings. But it was _our_ wedding, and that changed everything. He'd save that suit, and whenever I saw him in it again, I would know that I was (Y/n) Parker. That I finally married him after years of our family, and eventually the public badgering us about it.

Reaching the altar, I gave Peter a bright smile. He smiled back, and I knew that everything would be okay. My previous meltdowns and anxieties didn't exist anymore. It was just me and him and the path we would continue to forge together. Taking his hands, we turned to look at the officiant.

Being completely honest, everything the officiant said blended together into the idea of being married. I was sure tears were shed by both parties, but we wiped them away in favor of smiles. I answered when the officiant asked, repeated what he said, and finally, reached-

"I do."

"I do."

"You may now kiss."

Reaching for Peter, we met in the middle and shared our first kiss as newlyweds. No different than any other kiss we'd ever shared, despite what popular media would want you to think. Still, it was nice knowing that whenever we kissed, I'd be kissing my husband. _Husband_.

"Reception?" I asked when we pulled back, brow raising mischievously- it was time for a bit of fun after the emotionally draining portion. Peter nodded in response, and we ran down the aisle hand in hand.

We didn't feel the need to go out to a separate bar for an hour before the reception actually started because it was in the same building. We simply crossed the hall with our guests trailing behind us. The buffet was set, and everyone was all too excited to get a taste of it.

The front table held both the bridesmaids and the groomsmen, and we started greeting them first. Peter went to the girls and I went to the guys, since we spent the entire day with our parties.

"Congrats you two. I want the record to state that I shipped it first," Ned hugged me tightly.

"Are you crying?" I asked with a giggle.

"No," he hugged me even tighter.

Harry was next. Opening my arms, we shared a warm hug, "I'm so happy for you two."

"And I'm happy for you. You're doing great," I moved on to Flash - we were all surprised by how much he cleaned up his act our senior year, and how he manned up enough to have a heart to heart with Peter about why he acted the way he did, insecurity and expectations from his parents that created internalized hate - "Hey."

"Congrats you two. You've always been made for each other. Hashtag Spidey-Tide."

"Alright," with a roll of my eyes and a smile, I greeted Leo lastly, a fresh Stark Industries employee who immediately showed his talent in designing hero suits. He easily melded into our group and was a fast friend of Shuri when they met to discuss suit designs- despite their disagreements on color shades, "Good at choosing hero suits _and_ normal suits, huh?"

"I've always strived myself on having a good style," Leo chuckled warmly.

From there, Peter and I went around the room getting well-wishes from everyone else. Each person had something nice to say. Whether it was about us, our hero personas, or our relationship. The award for most tears shed was a tie between Wade and my dad in the end, which didn't surprise any of us.

When all the greetings were said and done, Peter and I were overjoyed to be able to sit down and eat some of the food we were looking forward to. In the middle of my pasta, MJ practically punched my arm so I would lean over to her.

"What?" I hissed.

"Are you gonna tell him?" She asked. Off my look, she added, "I'm a detective. You can't get things past me. Especially working with the Nine-Nine. Halloween Heists sharpen your senses."

"I'm gonna do it tonight. I have it all planned out," I thought of the present I'd hidden under the bed.

"You're ready?" MJ gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Not really, but he's always wanted this, and so have I. We're just doing things sooner than we expected. We've got steady jobs, a nice home, and a lot of money thanks to Tony."

"Crime rates are low. I'll be sure to keep it that way. When's the public announcement?"

"A couple weeks from now, when the biggest risk period is over."

"The public will go nuts."

With that, we backed away from each other, returning to our plates. Shoveling another bite into my mouth, Peter gave me a questioning look.

"Tea about the police station," I dismissed with a wave of my hand.

When dinner was finished, the dances came. I danced to "Slipping Through My Fingers" with my dad, Peter did "Because You Loved Me" with May, then we did "I Wouldn't Mind" together.

"So, Orveon?" I asked as we twirled around the dancefloor together, other couples and friends around us as an upbeat song pulled everyone to the floor.

"The Guardians promise that where we're staying is beautiful and romantic."

"And no crime?" I elaborated.

"As peaceful as can be," Peter assured.

When we invited the Guardians and had a discussion about the wedding, Mantis suggested her favorite planet they'd visited as a honeymoon spot. Conveniently, we hadn't chosen a honeymoon destination and their strong reassurances that nothing bad ever happened there decided our fate. The only reason they were on the planet in the first place was to refuel, and the people there did so for free since they were heroes.

The dessert was brought out while all of us were distracted by all of the classic dance music. Slowly, people trickled off of the floor to take a drink and food break. Instead of a single, large cake, we chose smaller sweets instead. Candies, cupcakes, cookies, and smaller cakes. That way, people could decide how much they could handle and subsequently, what they wanted from that.

Peter and I stopped at the head table for some water, then grabbed some dessert of our own. Instead of joining the masses once again, we slipped away into a room just on the other side of the hall. No one would notice if we were gone for a few measly minutes. We may have been the reason they were celebrating, but there were too many other things going on to stay focused on me and Peter all the time.

The reception hall we had chosen was gorgeous, a large penthouse area with a view. Peter and I, munching out our separate desserts, simply stood next to each other and observed the New York skyline out the window.

When I first moved to New York, I thought that seeing the dark underbelly of it so often would burn me out, turn me away from enjoying my time in the city. That I would grow tired of the crime and the constant need to be someone, anyone, in such a big city where you can feel like a drop in the bucket. But the _real_ New York was different.

It was beautiful in every sense. The underbelly tried to take it over, and spoil the wonders, but they never succeeded. And that was because of Spider-Man and Riptide. Being able to save a city such as New York, a neverending skyline of hopes and the future, was a feeling like no other. It was our little corner of the world, one that we'd protect until our dying breaths without fail. Well, except for-

"Police sirens," Peter pointed out the flashing lights on the street below us. The sound could barely be picked up because of the music across from us, even by trained ears such as ours, "What do you say?"

Humming, I smiled, "They can make do without their favorite heroes for one night. We deserve this, don't we?"

The city in front of us seemed to scream with agreement. We'd protected it for years, it'd survive one night without our services. It would be the only time we didn't jump into action when we had a good opportunity to, yet neither of us felt guilty about it.

So, we finished our food, shared a smile, and turned back to rejoin the festivities. Partners, now and forever.


	29. Fun Facts

Welcome, as always, I have some fun facts to cheer you guys up about this story ending before I move on to the final goodbye.

** Fun Facts **

\- Originally, Venom was going to be a storyline in this book, and the Reader would have recieved the symbiote instead of Peter, but I scrapped it in favor of an Easter Egg in the epilogue since I enjoyed the Venom movie so much and didn't want to make him a villain when he's more of an anti-hero

\- Every time I got a comment about the Reader's hero name and Percy Jackson or the song, I sighed tiredly. That's fun.

\- I was also going to put in a little cameo for Andrew Garfield and Toby Macguire, but I got rid of it in favor of the Into the Spider-Verse crossover. And boy am I glad I did that because I loved that storyline.

\- I was totally winging the Endgame storyline, because I didn't have a script for it for _so_ freaking long. I was going on memory a lot, and yet, I wrote some of my longest chapters ever while winging it.

\- My favorite storyline from the series overall was probably the Memory Recovery Arc, because I love character development, and I loved arcs that are specifically for development.

\- Jess and Via were my first official OCs and I love them more than life. I knew I wanted Gemma Chan to be a faceclaim of mine at some point, and Via seemed like the perfect choice.

\- Peter Parker is best boi. Not a fun fact. Just a fact.

** Final Goodbye **

Thank you guys so much. Thank you for your kudos, comments, and just for reading in general. Whether you've commented on every chapter, or you've just lurked and never even considered letting me know you exist, thank you. This story wouldn't be half as good without you guys here to motivate me and keep me in shape.

Out of all of my stories, and all of the stories to come, this book will always hold a special place in my heart. This was really the first book that I took super seriously and wanted to make amazing for you guys. There's good original storylines, crossovers, headcanons, and character development that was all super experimental at first. I've grown so much as an author from the first chapter of Mutant and Proud to here. If you go back and compare the first chapter to the epilogue, you'd be able to tell.

Writing has given me such joy and filled me with so much warmth in times that are so hard and hopeless. It's an escape not only for me, but I'm sure for some of you as well. We've gone on this journey together, and that's what I love so much about sites like Wattpad and AO3. You guys are like family, therapists, and friends to me, and I love you all so freaking much.

So, if you ever feel the urge to rant about the newest episode of your favorite show, or cry about the C you got on your Spanish test, I'm right here, forever and always. Because it's the least I can do for the people who've made me feel like I'm worthy of such positivity and love. Never forget you guys, no matter how dark it seems, I love you, I'm here, and the darkness will give way to light someday.

I'm emotional so I'm going to wrap this up before I start crying. I love you, I hope to see you in Burn the Witch! If you want to see more of me and how insane I am in the real world (it gets weird guys), consider following me somewhere below! Each place has different, special content that I'm sure you'll enjoy. (Wow, I love giving a shameless plug after being so emotional)

Instagram: lydias.grace

Tellonym: lydiaofthefallen

Tumblr: fallenlydia

Pinterest: lydiaofthefallen

TikTok (I'm not even embarrassed, I love TikTok): lydias.grace

Wattpad: lydiaofthefallen

Discord Server: <https://discord.gg/7k28Ert>

Thank you for joining me in such a long journey where all I wanted to do was give Peter Parker the love he deserves! Never forget how amazing each and every one of you is, and I'll see you next time. 

Byyyeee!

~ Lydia


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